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Darlington Memorial Library
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3 1735 060 441 734
Vi^.
HISTORY
OF
FAYETTE COUNTY,
PENNSYLVANIA,
WITH
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF MANY OF ITS
Pioneers and Prominent Men. •
EDITED BY '».'■'
FRA.^K:LI^ ELLIS.
ISSS ,e^. °':-
PHILADELPHIA:
L. H. EVERTS & CO.
188 2.
PRESS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., PHILADELPHIi
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Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2010 with funding from
University of Pittsburgh Library System
http://www.archive.org/details/historyoffayetteOOelli
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Historic Guoind uf Fayette— Location-, Boi xdaries, and
TOPOGIIAI'HY l;i
CHAPTER II.
tTHK Works and Relics or an Extinct People 16
CHAPTER III.
♦ . The Indian Occupation 19
CHAPTER IV.
The French ash Indian Claims to the Trans-Allegheny
Region — George Washington's Visit to the French
' Forts in IVi.l , -22
CHAPTER V.
French Occcpation at the Head of the Ohio — Washington's
Campaign of 1754 in the Yoigiiiogheny Valley 2C
CHAPTER Vr.
Braddock's Expedition in 175J :i7
CHAPTER VII.
^ Captlre of Fort Du Qcesne— Erection of Fort Burd.. 49
U CHAPTER VIII.
J Settlement of the Covniv 53
(4i CHAPTER IX.
Dinmore's War CO
CHAPTER X.
The Revolution.
T roups Rfii8ed for tlie Field — Subsequent Disaffection— Lochry'a Expe-
ditiuu 7U
CHAPTER XI.
The Revolution {C<mthiiied).
•Williamsou'a Expedition— Crawford'a Sandusky Expedition 90
CHAPTER XII.
Pennsylvania and Virginia Territorial Controversy —
Establishment of Boundaries — Slavery and Servi-
tude 114
CHAPTER Xlir.
Erection of Fayette County — Establishment op Courts —
County Buildings 129
CHAPTER XIV.
The Bar of Fayette County— Fayette Civil Lists-
County Societies 138
CHAPTER XV.
The Whiskey Insurrection 157
CHAPTER XVI.
Fayette County in the War of 1S12-15 and Mexican
War 180
CHAPTER XVII.
War op the Rebellion — Fayette's First Companies, Eighth
and Eleventh Reserves 190
CHAPTER Will.
War OF THE Rebellion {r„„(,„„c./).
Elghty-liflli Iti't'iinenl iiud Second Artillcrj- 202
CHAPTER XIX.
War of the Rebellion {Coutiniiecl).
One Hundred and Slxteentli and One Hundred and Forty-second Regi.
"'oots 212
CHAPTER XX.
War of the Rebellion (Contluueil).
Tlie Fourteenth Cavalry 216
rilAPTER XXr.
War of the Rebellion (ConHiuicl).
Tlio Sixteenth Cavalry 2J4
CHAPTER XXir.
Economic Geology- — Iro.n, Coal, and Coke.
The Mineral Itcsources of Fayette County 230
CHAPTER XXia.
Internal Improvements — Population.
Roads and Bridges— National Rond—Navigation— Population of the
County hy Decades 247
HISTORIES OF BOEOUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS.
UNIOXTOW.V BOROUGH.
Early Taverns and Later Public-Houses— Incorporation of the Borough
— Uuiontown from 1800 to 1825— Visit of Lafayette, 1823— Union Vol-
unteers— Facta from the Bnrougli Records— List of Borough OtBcers—
Fire Dc',.;iiliiir i t- P. -t-n:f n— Mail Robbery by l)r. Uraddeo— Press
of Unii lit I' ;,.,- uf Uuiontown — Lawyer** — Schools—
Churclu— i. liiiiincial Institutions— Fayette C<iunty
Mutuiil lii. iii-uiLM < inpuiiy — lluilding and Loan As.suciation —
Societies an.l dnl.is— Mills und Mannfactories— Gas-Worlts— Popnla-
tion— Biogi aphical Sltetches 279
COXXELLSVILLE BOROUGH AND TOWNSHIP.
Borough Currency— Vocations followed in Connollsvillo iu 182:i— Inde-
pendence Day, 1824— Bridges Across the Yonghioglioiiy— Exliiiguish-
ment of Files — l*ost-Oflicea and Postmasters- Financial Institutions^
Societies and Ordora-Pliysicians-Newspapers-Schools— Churches-
Burial-Grounds — Railroads— Manufactories. The Township.— List of
Township Officers — Manufacturing Establishments— Gibson ville—Bi.
ographical Sltetches 3(ja
BROWNSVILLE BOROUGH AND TOWNSHIP.
Incorporation of the Borough and Erection of tlio Township— Public
Ground, Market-House, and other matters from tli.- n..roii;;li Records
—Lafayette's Visit to Brownsville— Ferrir- I:ii:_r, ,,, Hunlap's
Creek. etc. — Early Tavernsand Later Hot-!- ■ i 1 1 !m- Medi-
cal Profession — Brownsville Schools— Ki : - iii : Miirial-
Grounds — Extinguishment of Fires — P.^~t-'ii,h, .],n.i!i 1,: Iji.^iilu-
tions— Manufacturing Establishments— Coal Mimsi.nd lokit- Works-
Brownsville Gas Conipany — Societies and Orders — Brownsville Civil
List— Biographical Sketches... 421
BRIDGEPORT BOROUGH AND TOWNSHIP.
Incorporation of the Borough — Erection of the Township— Officers of the
TownsitipandBoi-ougli — Market- House — Publx Warehouseand Wliarf
— Ferries and Bridges over the SlonongaUela— Steamboat and Keel-
Boat Building— Manufacturing Eslablishments— Medical Profession-
Public-Houses — Fire Apparatus — National Bank — Schools — Religious
History 465
5
CONTENTS.
BULLSKIN TOWNSHIP.
Civil Organizatiuu — General Intlustrics—Peunsville— Educational and
EkdigioUB 485
DUNBAR TOWNSHIP.
Original Landholders— Tax-r^iy : m 17 < > l:iily Roads— Early Iron-
workers—The Union Fnrii,.. I -' : ' III /ntion and Civil liist
— VillageofEastLibertj — \i;. - li:. Milage of Alexandnn
—Churches— Sdiools-Manul.uUiuc, l.iiu.UKS— Societies and Or-
ders. New Haven Bonouaii. — Now Haven's rhysicians— Jnstices of
the Peace— Borougli Incorporation anil List of Officers— Schools in
New Ilaven—Post-Olflce-Religious— Biographical Notices 501
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.
Original l.andlioldcrs in Franklin-Franklin Tax-Payei? in 1785— Early
Roads— 'I'ownship Organization and Civil List — Scliools — Ciinrches —
Personal Sketches 549
GEORCES TOWX.'^IIIP.
Old Koada — Ashcniir- r It 11 in ;,iit -> n Tin Iii.Iii>:ri.is— Coke
Mannfactnre — Mill' l' ■ . i Ii i- Mi,,;.iiv Jlnnioirs—
Scliools— Churili.- 'I I : - v'l . ; Ai, -Faircliance
— Sniithfiold— Pliysii im- -■ : M.il.. i-- i ,,i |, nir, . i.ml Builders
— Coopers — Wagon-Miikris — ^ucielies and (jiders — Ct'orges Creek
Trailing Conumny — Justices of the Peace— Biograpliical Sketches. 5G4
GERMAN TOWNSHIP.
Physicians — Schools — Churches— Bu rial-Grounds— List of Towusliip
Officers— Masonlown Biroiigh— SIcCk-llandtown— Societies and Or-
ders — High House— Military Record of German Township — Various
Statistics of German Township- Peraoniil Sketches SOU
HENRY CLAY TOWNSHIP.
Pioneers and Early Settlements— Roads— Tavern Stands— Township
Orgaiiizatiun and Officers- Jockey Yalley—Markleysbuig— Religious
Denoniiuations—Cemeleries— Scliools 605
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP.
Early Kuails— TovvnshipOrganization and Civil List— Schuols — Churches
— Co^il Prodncl ions— Biographical Sketches C14
LUZERNE TOAYNSHIP.
Early Roads — Township Organization and List of Officers — Schools —
Churches — Burial-Grounds — Village of Mcrrittstown— Biographical
Mention 633
MENALLEN TOWNSHIP.
Early Roads— Early Taverns— Township Organization and List of Offi-
cers-Town of New Salem- Upper Middletown— Churches— Bio-
graphical 663
NORTH AND SOUTH UNION TOWNSHIPS.
NouTii Union.— Early Settlements— Erection of the Township and List
of Officers— Schools— Soldiers' Orphans' School— Religio\is Societies—
Jlauufactnring Industries. Souni Union.— Early Settlements— Erec-
tion, Boundaries, and List of Officers— Schools— Redstone Coke-Works
— Chicago and Connellfiville Coke Company's Works. MoNnoE.-rTav-
erns— Stores- Manufactories— Trip-Hammer Forge— Disliliery-Tho
Professions — Churches — Sabbath-Schools — Schools — Biographical
Mention 669
NICHOL,?ON TOWNSHIP.
List of Township Officere— Schools— Churches— Biographical 695
PERRY TOWNSHIP.
Erection of Township and List of Officers— Perryopolis — Lay ton Station
— Schools of the Township— Religious Worship — Burial-Grounds —
Biographical Notices 707
REDSTONE TOWNSHIP.
Township Organization and Civil List — Schools— Churches— Biograph-
ical Sketches 723
SALT LICK TOWNSHIP.
Roads— General Industries— Mercantile and Other Interests — Religious
and Educational 74]
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP.
Roads — General Industries — Villages and Business Interests — Educa-
tional and Religious — Biogriipliical Mention.. 751
SPRINGHILL TOWNSHIP.
Medical Men— Early Roads — Early Mannraclurers — Springhill Civil
List — Schools — Churches — Soldiers— Biographical 763
STEWART TOWNSHIP.
Pioneer Settlers— Civil Organization— Falls City— Various Industries of
the Township— Religious and Educational— Schools 774
UPPER AND LOWER TYRONE TOWNSHIPS.
Early Settlements— Erection of Tyrone as a Township of Fayette County
— Changes of Territory and List of Officers— Erection of Upper and
Lower Tyrone— Religious Worship — Schools — Churches — Societies
and Orders — Jimtown — Coke Manufacture — Railroads— Biographical
Sketches 783
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
Township Organization and Civil List — Early Roads — Little Redstone
1 — Boi'-
!e City
1 Ceme-
WHARTON TOWNSHIP.
Ill Graves— Battle-
National Road —
I'tllenient— Town-
's— Mail Service —
lols — Biographical
-BxoG-:Rj^FiEj:xaj^T^.
Allebaugh, Samuel 005
Allison, James 067
Daily, Silas Milto :!55
Banning, Anthony R 545
Barnes, David 415
Barton, William B!l4
Blackstone, James 545
Bowman, G. II 4,-,7
Boyle, diaries E 352
Boyd, Archil.ald 031
Breading, David 051 j
-Breading, James E 650
Breading, Nathaniel 050
Britt, Robert 689
PAOE
Brown, Isaac 09a
Brown, John 827
Brownflehl, Bai-il 692
Brownfield, Evving 340
Burton, John 502
Buttermore, Smith 418
Campbell. George W 762
Caufield, Thomas 739
Chatland, William 462
Clement, Samuel M 691
Cochran, James 804
-Cook, Edward 825
Cook, John B 825
Covert, Benjamin 052
CONTENTS.
Hcnl) MiiiiiiLe
Herl erti ii, John
IIiliU DiiMil
IIil b<!, Siiiniiel C
IIill AlcMiiKlci and Alexanilci J
Hogt Grorgo
Ilog^ Willium
llo^sott. Hoi crt
Ilontli ^^llll>nl
IIoA^ill Jushnii B
Houtll Mficd
Hunt, Willjiim
Huston Joliii
lI^nilDmn I Iv, inl K
Jiickson, U bolt
Johnson I)a\ul
Ron 1 ill IiiaiL P
PAOE
TAOE
Craft Janios W
740
IlnlKj Lutelliis
406
Cr)v»laM.I,A J
54n
ly J">i"b M
738
Cn.«»land (.iconHberry
300
Ljnn Doiiton
827
CumnunKs David
419
MitrchamI L mis
627
UaMlMin Jolinll
721
Jlnlhoil Htnrj I!
687
naMlnon Thoiiiaa It
40'>
. M.c 1(111 Ali-xaiidir
302
DainlBon Damil R
400
JMUaiiio H bnt^
638
Danbon John I
4(H
Mill 1 L •?
032
Dot»>nlU8 Artlinr B
544
Milloi Willlumll
40!
D\U,U,»,y
700
Ml OH J W
(94
Drax IilinF
415
Moigan, loliM
773
Dnntan Ihonnis
459
^<■«cmlOl,Goorgo W
417
Duman \Mlln.m S
400
Nc«m,er,l-S
4iO
Dnijii luhtim
090
Niitt \damC
1.8
Ilunn rhinnis
.50:1
Ofelcvce loKopli
"641
Elll tt lOBOpll h
G28
Ollphant, F H
582
Elliott ^^llllanl
628
Ohiilmnt S D
104
E»inK Willmtn
or,i
I'altoreon Mfied
351
FcrfeOBH. IdlnnndM
414
I'attcraon William G
0)0
F.rgns)!. Walton
415
Paiill Jiimcs
5i8
liuWi Rdiirt
7:i7
I'ursol James
721
Foniyth William
028
Pfii-sul Jtromiali
067
Franks, M W
705
PhlllipH FllH
641
Fnck Ilmr) C
414
11 vf.id w n
1>3
Fri^bro, lohn D
I iiinUtmo Mm
700
Fulkr, smith
347
III II 111 11 limes Hum 18
3o8
Gallatin Albdt
771
It . 1 Jamts SI
540
Gil son \Io\andci
052 •
11 lb rl8,Giimtli
738
Cans LillouHll
77:i
Itobinsoii Ml ucr
301
Gibs ni J slllla
404-
Itibinsin lames
590
G .0 Ilonrj li
029
I ^ 1, Mm sK
419
Goe.J linS
c;'.o
I 1 < 1
840
Graham Hugh
III It
io4
Gmno \\iN>n
7(1.-,
1 1 1 11
412
Giiflin William I>
7U0
^ II \l 1 w
■-»
Grimih SamuilC
820
s infill Willmii
01 >
Hngn, lliubon
589
"51.1 u 1 la ,b
03
Ml 1 hens, I 01 B
>inilin„ John
Stirling T mllMii
004 liiuiei Wilhrnill
ril Wells Josiph
U04 Willcj limes
722 Woodwaid Diun,
410 WoodiMiid loseih
741 Woik Samuel
J.LLTJSTR.^TI01TS.
Adims, John Q , Itesidcuce
Allebaiigh, Samuel
Allisiiii, Janios
Bail} Silas Miltnn
Banning, Anthoii} II
Barton William
Biniis, Oib>on, Itesidonci of
Blacl ^tune, Jam( s
Bon man, G H
Bojd, Alehlbald
facing O.;o Biijle, C E
faeing 355
bctnecn044, 54i
facing 09i
020
lictwoen j44, 545
facing 4j7
betneen 630, G31
Braddoek 9 Grive
Brtnding James p
Butt Kobcrt
Browneller, DaMd, Residence of
Brow n, laale
Biimn luhn
1 3o2, 353
ing OoO
CONTENTS.
Campbell, George W
762
facing 740
7A0E
Leisenring, John
Lenhart, Leonard
Lindley, Lutcllus
Linn, James M
" 410
Cbatlaud, William
Clement, Samuel M
between 462, 463
" 690, 691
facing 804
between 520, 621
" 520, 521
826
" 134
" 620
between 652, 653
" 740,741
527
feeing 5«
between 360, 361
facing 418
" 244
" 408
" 720
" 405
between 544, 545
" 706, 707
facing 415
" 469
" 460
between 688, 580
facing 663
between 628, 629
between 740, 741
facing 4U6
" 738
Connellsville Coke and Iron Company's Works
Cook, Edward
Map, Battle of Great Meadows
Map of Coke Region
Map of Fayette County, 1832
Map, Geological
Map, Outline of County
facing 830
■' 280
between 240, 247
'
facing 250
Cope, Emmor, Residence of
•' 230
" 13
Marchand, Louis
Mathiot, Henry B
Mcllvaine, Robert A
Miller, L.S., Residence of
Miller, William H
Moore, J. W
" 627
" 587
Crawford's House
Oroesland, A. J
Crossland, Greensbcrry
" 538
" 462,463
facing 694
Davidson Coke-Works
Davidson, Daniel K
Davidson, John H
Davidson, Thomas R
De SauUes, Artbur B
Newcomer, George W
Newmyer's Opera-House
" 417
" 382
Nutt, A. C, Residence of
Oglevee, Joseph
Oliphant. F. H
facing 298
Dravo, John F
Duncan, Thomas
Duncan, William S
Dunn, Justus
Dunn, Thomas
Elliott, Joseph S
" 582
Patterson, Alfred
Peireel, Jeremiah, Sr
Peirsel, Jeremiah, Jr
Phillips, Ellis
Playford, W. H
" 667
E«ing, William
facing 651
between 544, 545
Ferguson, Walton
Finley, Robert
First Methodist Episcopal Church, Uniontown....
Ford, Charles, Residence of
Forsyth, James S., Residence of.
Forsyth, William
Franks, JI.W
Flick, II. nrvC
Frisb«,.lol,MD
Fuller, Smith
Gallatin, Albert
Gans, Lebbcus B
Gibson, Alexander
Goe, Henry 1!
Goe, John S
Graham, Hugh
Greene, Wili!on
Griffin, William P
Griffith, Samuel C
Hague, Reuben
Hansel, Geo. W
Healy, Jlanri.,-
Hibbs, I'Hvi.l
Hibbs. S;,rnn,lC
Hill, .\!. .iri.i .1
HoK_-, -
•' 414,415
facing 737
facing 620
" 620
between 028, 629
" 704,705
facing 414
" 416
" 347
" 771
" 773
between 652, 653
facing 629
between 630, 631
669
facing 705
between 706, 707
facing 826
between 588, 689
facing 841
" 542
" 402
■. 739
:fecing 7;ia
between 458, 4.V,.
between 704, 705
Redburn, J. T
Red Lion Valley
. facing 368
" 620
" 540
Roberts, Griffith
Robinson, Eleazer
738
facing 361
Rogere, James K
facing 419
Rush, Sebastian
ScUnatterly, Thomas B
Schoonmaker, James M
Searight,Wm
facing 840
" 412
" 665
between 562,563
, Shepler, Joseph T
Smith, Robert
Soisson, Joseph
Soisson & Kilpatrick, Brick-Works
Springer, Levi
Staufler, J. R. & A., Flouring-Mills of.
Stantfer, J. R. i Co., Dexter Coke-Works
" 544, 545
" 562,563
" 420,421
facing 4(95
between 690, 691
facing 802
" 803
Steele, Samuel
Stephens, Levi
" 4C1
between 826, 827
" 8-26,827
facing 602
603
facing 303
" 352, 353
..facing 356
leen 360, 361
..facing 369
.. " 409
668
\ eeu 458, 459
" 604, 605
..facing 091
Kendall, Isjiac I
King,Ju8iah
Sturgeon, Daniel
Swart?., Joseph, Residence of.
Thompsou, Jasper M
Tinstman, A.
Trader, William H
Cniontown Soldiers' Orphans' School..
WVlls, Joseph .-...
Wilkey, James
Woodward, Davis ,
Woodward, Isaac C, Residence of.
Woodward, Joseph
leen 590, 591
678, 679
HISTORY
OP
FAYETTE COUxNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
CHAPTER I.
HISTORIC GROUND OF FAYETTE— LOCATION, BOUN-
DARIES, AND TOPOURAPIIY.
There are within the State of Pennsylvania very
few counties whose boundaries include ground more
historic than that which is comprehended in the do-
main of the county of Fayette. A century and a
quarter ago, when the two great European rivals,
England and France, contended for dominion over
the vast region watered by the head-streams of the
Oiiio, the latter nation claimed the summit of Laurel
Hill as her eastern boundary ; and in the strife which-
followed — the contest by the issue of which that claim
was extinguished forever — it was in the ravines and
on the hillsides and meadows lying between the
Youghiogheny and Monongahela Rivers that the
forces, marching respectively under the Bourbon lilies
and the cross of St. George first met in actual shock
of arms; it was the soil now of Fayette County
which drank the first blood spilled in that memorable
contlict. Years afterwards, when a scarcely less fierce
controversy sprang up between the States of Penn-
sylvania and Virginia, the Old Dominion insisted on
extending her limits eastward to that same Laurel
Hill summit, while Pennsylvania, willing at one time
to recognize the Monongahela as the division line,
peremptorily refused to yield an inch east of that
stream ; and so Fayette County, with contiguous
country lying to the west and north of it, became the
theatre of a conflict of jurisdiction which almost
reached the extremity of open war.
It was here, within what is now Fayette County, that
George Washington fought his first battle, and here
he made his first — and last — surrender to an enemy.
Across these hills and valleys and streams the army of
the brave Braddock marched in pride and confidence
to assault the French stronghold at the head of the
Ohio; and when the survivors of that proud host re-
turned by the same route, flying in disorder and panic
from the bloody field of the Monongahela, it was here
that their dauntless leader died of his wounds, and
here, in the soil of Fayette County, they buried him.
On the shore of the Monongahela River, in this
county, wa.s held the first, as also the last, public
meeting convened by the insurgent leaders in the
famous insurrection of 1791-94; and when at last
the government sent an army to enforce the laws, the
military column marched through Fayette, and the
commanding general established his headquarters at
the county-seat, where he received assurances of sub-
mission from the disaffected leaders. Detailed men-
tion will be made of all these historical fiicts, with
numberless others relating to this county, including the
construction of the great National road ; the building,
in Fayette, of the first steamboat that ever descended
the Monongahela, the Ohio, and the Mississippi
Rivers ; the erection here of the first iron-furnace
west of the Allegheny Mountains ; the first recorded
instance of the use of the bituminous coal of Western
Pennsylvania as fuel ;' its first application to the man-
ufacture of coke, and the subse(i\ient development of
that industry to an extent which seems destined, in the
near future, to place this county among the most pros-
perous and wealthy of the State.
In regard to its location and boundaries, Fayette
may properly be described as one of the southern
tier of counties in Pennsylvania, and the second one
from the western line of the .State. It is joined on
the west by the counties of Greene and Washington ;
on the northby Westmoreland, of which itonce formed
a part ; and on the east by Somerset. Its southern
boundary is formed by the north line of the States of
West Virginia and Maryland. This is identical with
the famed " Mason and Dixon's line," and thus for
many years the southern border of Fayette County
formed a part of the free-State frontier against the
dominion of African slavery.
The two principal streams of the county are the
Monongahela and the Youghiogheny Rivers. The
1 By Col. Burd, near licdstooe Creek, in t'iO.
It
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
former (and the larger) stream takes its rise in West
Virginia, crosses tlie State line into Pennsylvania at
the extreme southwest corner of Fayette County, and
flowing thence in a meandering but generally north-
ward course, marks the entire western boundary of
Fayette against the counties of Greene and Washing-
ton, for a distance of nearly forty-seven and a half
miles. After leaving the northwestern limit of Fay-
ette, the river continues in nearly the same general
course between Westmoreland and Washington and
through Allegheny County to its confluence with the
Allegheny River at Pittsburgh.
The Youghiogheny — a mountain stream of clearer
and purer water than that of the Monongahela— runs
from Maryland into Pennsylvania, crossing the line
into this State at the extreme southeast corner of Fay-
ette County. Flowing in a generally northward course
from this point, it marks for a distance of fifteen and
one-half miles the boundary between Fayette and
Somerset Counties. From there, turning somewhat
abruptly towards the west, it leaves Somerset, and, !
with the highlands of Fayette on either side, passes
through this county for a distance of more than forty-
four miles to the north line. Its general direction
tlirough Fayette is nearly northwest ; its current rapid,
rushing and tumbling over a rocky bed in many places, ,
and broken at one point (Ohio Pile) by falls of con-
siderable height. From the north boundary of this
county it enters Westmoreland, and flows on in nearly !
the same course to its junction with the Monongahela
at McKeesport.
Besides these two rivers, Fayette County has a
great number of smaller streams, but among these
there are few that are of eufiicient size and import-
ance to deserve separate mention. Cheat River,
which has its sources in West Virginia, enters Penn-
sylvania, and flowing a short distance across the ex-
treme southwest corner of this county, joins its waters
with those of the Monongahela. Nearly five miles
f u-tlicr down the river is the mouth of Georges Creek,
which stream is entirely within this county. Dun-
lap's Creek and Redstone Creek are both also wholly
witliin the county, from mouth to head-springs. The
iormer enters the Monongahela between the boroughs !
of Brownsville and Bridgeport, and the latter about
one and a quarter miles farther north. Jacob's
Creek, flowing in a westward direction, forms the
northern boundary of Fayette County for a little
more than twenty miles (by its meandering course)
eastward from the point where it enters the Youghio-
gheny River. The other principal tributaries of
that river within the territory of Fayette are Mounts'
Crock, which rises in the mountainous region in the
northeast part of the county, and enters the Youghio-
gheny just below the borough of Connellsville; Indian
Creek, which also takes its rise in the northeastern
highlands, and flows into the river from that direction,
about eight miles above Mounts' Creek ; and Great
Meadow Run, which flows from itssources in the Laurel '
Hill range, first southeasterly, and then towards the
northeast, entering the river through its left bank'near
Ohio Pile Falls. Big Sandy Creek and Little Sandy
Creek rise in the southern part of Fayette, and thence
take a southerly course into West Virginia, where
their waters join those of the Cheat River, and
through it find their way into the Monongahela.
In that part of the county which lies northeast of
the Youghiogheny are two mountain ranges, extend-
ing from Westmoreland County in a direction nearly
south-southwest and parallel with each other to the
river. The more western of the two is called Chest-
nut Ridge, and the other Laurel Hill, the crest of
which latter forms a part of the county boundary
between Fayette and Somerset, the remainder of that
line, about fifteen miles, being marked by the Youghio-
gheny River, as before noticed. The valley between
these ranges, broken somewhat by detached hills, is
drained by Indian Creek and its small tributaries.
Its soil is better adapted for grazing purposes than
for the production of grain. West of the Chestnut
Ridge is a valley drained by Mount's Creek and its
branches. Beyond tliis the land rises into hills, of
which alongand high rangelies between the Youghio-
gheny and Jacob's Creek, sloping away towards both
streams, along the margins of which are narrow bot-
tom-lands.
On the southwest side of the Youghiogheny the
name of Laurel Hill is applied to the mountain range,
which is in fact the prolongation of that known on
the other side as Chestnut Ridge. This Laurel Hill
range extends from the Youghiogheny southwest-
wardly nearly by the geographical centre of the county,
and about two miles east of L'niontown, the county-
seat ; its summits being more than two thousand five
hundred feet above se.a-level, and one thousand feet
above neighboring valleys. Across the southea-i
corner of the county, extending southward from thr
Youghiogheny to and across the State line, is a ridge
of rugged hills, which may properly be termed th.
prolongation of the Laurel Hill range on the other
side of the river. These hills are, however, in general
much lower and more flattened, there being among
them but one summit (Sugar- Loaf ) which in hciglit
appro.ximates to those on the northeast side of the
river.
West of the Laurel Hill range, and extending in :i
direction nearly parallel to it across this part of tie
county, is a beautiful valley several miles in width.
drained on the south by York's Run and Georges
Creek, and on the northwest and north by Redstone
Creek and several small tributaries of the Youghio-
gheny River. This valley is the "Connellsville'
Coal Basin," extending west to the " barren meas-
ures," about four miles west of the countv-seat.
West of this valley are elevated uplands, undulating,
and in many places hilly, particularly as they ap-
proach the Monongahela, where they terminate some-
what abruptly in what are termed the " river-hills,"
LOCATION, BOUNDARIES, AND TOPOGRAPH i'.
15
which descend to the rich bottom-liinds, rarely ex-
ceeding one-fourtii of a mile in width, which lie along
the margin of the river.
In all thia part of the county west of the Laurel
Hill, including the broad valley, the rolling upland,
the hilly lands (often tillable to the summits), and the
river bottoms, the soil is excellent for the production
of grain and fruits, and the country in general well
adapted to the various requirements of agriculture.
l)cl:iiK'y's t'avo, situated in Fayette County, is a
wonderful natural curiosity, which appears, from the
descriptions of many who have visited it, to be scarcely
inferior to the celebrated Mammoth Cave in Ken-
tucky. Its location is about nine miles in a south-
easterly direction from Uniontown. A great number
of descriptions of the cave have been given by per-
sons who have visited it from time to time, but most
of these accounts bear the appearance of too great
embellishment. The description which is given be-
low was written by Mr. John A. Paxton, who visited
the cave in 1816, and published his account of it im-
mediately afterwards in the American Telegraph of
Brownsville. Mr. Paxton was a Philadelphia gentle-
man, who being in this section of country in the year
named, engaged in the collection of material for a
gazetteer of the United States, was detained by an
accident to his horse, and obliged to remain two or
three days at Uniontown. While there he heard of
the great cave, and determined to see and explore it.
A party was accordingly made up, consisting of Mr.
Paxton, William Gregg, John Owens, James M. John-
ston, John Gallagher, and Epliraim Dougla.ss. These
having provided themselves with refreshments, can-
dles, tinder-box, brimstone niatche-s, lanterns, com-
pass, chalk, and a line for measuring, set out on
Wednesday, Sept. 11, 1816, and proceeded southeast-
wardly to Laurel Hill, and ascended the mountain
towards the cave. They left their horses at the farm-
house of Mr. Delaney (from whom the cave was after-
wards named), and requested him, in case they should
fail to return from their exploration the following
morning, to have the people of the vicinity aroused
to search for them, as they had heard the story of two
young men— Grain and Merrifield— who had been lost
in the cave for nearly two days, and were found at the
end of that time locked in each other's arms and des-
pairingly waiting for death. It was about the middle
of the afternoon when the party, fully equipped, .set
out on foot for the entrance of the cave, and the story
of their exploration was narrated by Paxton, as fol-
lows :
" Laurel Hill Cave, which I have taken the liberty to
name, it being in want of one, is situated in Pennsyl-
vania,— Fayette County, Georges township, — on the
top of Laurel Hill Mountain, nine miles southeasterly
of Uniontown, three miles easterly of Delaney's farm-
house. At four o'clock p.m. we commenced our
operations. We first descended into a small pit, on
the side of which wc found the mouth, about three
j feet by four, which we entered, and immediately
found ourselves in a passage about twenty feet wide,
and descending about fifty ilegrecs for forty feet in a
j northwest course, when we found a less declivity and
I smoother floor; here we left our great-coats and things
we had no immediate use for, and proceeded in the
I same course a short distance, when we found that the
j passage forked into two avenues more contracted,
I both leading, by a considerable descent, into the first
I room ; this is about twenty-four feet in diameter, with
a roof of rock about twenty feet high. A large de-
scending passage leads from this room, the same
course, with a very high roof, and is about twelve
feet wide for .some distance, when it becomes more
j contracted and leads into the second room, which is
j fifty feet by one hundred, with a large body of rocks
I on the floor that have fallen from the roof, which is
not very high. At the end of the passage is a running
spring of excellent water. In this room the person
who had the tinder-box unfortunately let it fall
among the rocks, which opened it, and by this acci-
dent we lost nearly all our tinder. A very narrow,
uneven,, and descending passage leads from the second
room, in a northeast direction, to the narrows, — a )ias-
sage two and a half feet high and about fifty feet
broad, leading horizontally between rocks, with a
small descent for about one hundred and fifty feet to
a perpendicular descent over rocks; through this
small passage we had in many places to drag our-
selves along on our bellies, and the buttons on niy
coat were torn off' by the rocks above. This passage
evidently was formed by the foundation of the nether
rock being washed by the veins of water, which
caused it to separate from the upper rock and formed
the route to the perpendicular descent, which we
found to be twenty-two feet. I descended by a rope ;
but my companions found their way down by cling-
ing to the rocks. We now found ourselves in a very
uneven rocky passage, which ascended about twenty
degrees for two hundred and thirty-four feet; but as
we could not find an outlet from this, after the most
particular search, we returned and ascended the per-
pendicular precipice, and to the right of it discovered
a passage which had a great descent, was very rocky,
uneven, and so contracted for about eighty feet that
it was with the greatest difficulty we made our way
through it; this led to a second perpendicular de-
scent of thirty feet over rocks, which we with great
difiiculty got down. We now found ourselves in a
large avenue, or Little IMill-Stream Hall (as I called
it), with a very high roof and about twenty-five feet
wide; it had a sandy floor, with a stream of water
running through it sufliciently rapid and large to
turn a grist-mill. On the sides of this stream were
some large rocks which had fallen from the roof. This
avenue- is about six hundred feet in length, with a
considerable descent tn where the water loses itself
through a small ajicrture in the rocks.
IG
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
"On returning from the bottom of the avenue ^-e
discovered a passage leading horizontally and at right
angles from the side of this avenue, the entrance of
which is elevated about eight feet above the floor.
We found this a. very pleasant passage in comparison
to the rest ; the roof, sides, and floor were quite smooth,
and we could walk upright. It is one hundred and
twenty feet long, and leads into the last and largest
avenue, or Great Mill-Stream Hall. This we found
to be very spacious, being about from twenty to thirty
feet wide, from thirty to eighty feet from the floor to
the roof, and twelve hundred feet in length, with a
stream sufficient to turn agrist-mill running its whole
length. From the source of this stream, where there
is a considerable collection of white spar, formed in
flat cakes and cones, caused evidently by the constant
dripping of water, the avenue has a descent of about
thirty degrees to where the stream disembogues itself
through a small aperture in the rocks. Before we
arrived at this aperture the avenue became so con-
tracted that Mr. Gregg and myself had to creep on
our hands and knees through the water for about fifty
feet. Here in the sand we found the name of ' Grain'
written, which we considered a mortifying discovery,
as we thought we were the first persons who had
penetrated so far in this direction. We wrote our
names likewise iu the saud and then joined the rest
of the party.
■' In our search through this great avenue we had to
climb over or creep under a thousand craggy rocks
that lay scattered on the floor, and which had fallen
from the sides and ceiling. I have every reason to
believe that no person except us ever visited the
source of the stream and head of the avenue, as we
found no sign of human invention within many hun-
dred feet of the spot, and which was very common in
every other part of the cave, as the sides of every
place that had been previously visited were covered
with names and marks made with coal, and if any
pirson had penetrated this far they certainly would
have left some token of their perseverance. We now
found ourselves at the end of our exploring expedi-
tion, and as we had plenty of candles left and had
taken the precaution to mark with chalk an arrow on
tlie rocks at every turn, we were confident of being
able to retrace our steps to the entrance.
" Returning, we measured with a line the extreme
distance we had been in, and found it to be three
thousand six hundred feet, but we must have trav-
elled altogether upwards of two miles. Our return
was found to be much more tiresome, as it was an as-
cemling route nearly the whole distance. We arrived
in safc'ty at the mouth at ten o'clock at night, after
having traveled incessantly for six hours. We were
alinut sixteen hundred feet perpendicularly below the
entrance. We heard the water running beneath the
rucks in every part of the cave. The temperature we
found agreeable, but owing to our great exertions we
were kept in a jn-ofuse perspiration during the whole
time we were in. In different parts we saw a few
bats, but a gentleman from Uniontown informed me
that the roofs of the two first rooms were covered
with millions of bats hanging in large bunches in a
, torpid state and clinging to each other.
I "This cave is composed of soft sandstone rocks,
j and has every appearance of having been formed by
the veins of water washing them and their founda-
tions away, which caused by their weight to separate
from the standing rocks above. There is not the
smallest doubt in my mind but this cave is consider-
ably enlarged by the friction of the water each year,
for all the rocks on the floors of the diflerent apart-
ments would exactly fit the parts of the ceiling im-
mediately above them. The rocks that now form
this cave will certainly fall by degrees as their foun-
dations are washed away, therefore it is impossible to
form an idea of the very great spaciousness that it
may arrive to. The knowledge that the rocks above
are subject to fall is calculated to create the most in-
expressible horror in the minds of persons who visit
this subterranean wonder. The arches of all the
avenues are formed by rocks meeting in the middle of
j the roofs, with a crack extending in each the whole
length."
CHAPTER II.
THE WORKS AXD RELICS OF AN EXTINCT PEOPLE.
In Fayette County, as in many other parts of West-
ern Pennsylvania, and in a great number of locali-
ties farther towards the southwest, there exist evi-
dences of a very ancient occupation of these valleys
and hills by a people other than the native Indians
who held possession at the time when the first white
settlers came here. These evidences are found chiefly
in curious mounds and otlier forms of earthwork,
some apparently having been devoted to purposes of
sepulture alone, and others having the form and ap-
pearance of defenses against hostile attack.' The
great age of these structures was proved, not only by
their general appearauce of antiquity, but more de-
cidedly by the fact that in many instances trees of the
largest size were found growing on the embankments.
In reference to these works and the evidence which
they furnish that this region, in common with others,
covering the entire Mississippi and Ohio River val-
leys, had been anciently occupied by a people su-
1 Tlie Mornvian writer, Zeisberger, snys, in reference to tliis Bubjcct,
" In war they [tlie builders of tliese cjirtben works] uscJ some ranip.Trl>
about tbeir towns, and round hillocks, in the top of which they made a
hollow place to ehcller their women and children in ; tliey placed them-
selves around and uponitio figlit; in siicli batllcswere commonly niai ly
killed, wliom tliey buried all in a heap, covering the corpses with tin?
bark of trees, stones, eartli, etc. On the place where Scboi^nbrunu, (1il>
Christian Indian town, was built [in OhioJ, one can plainly sec such a
wall or rampart of considerable extent, and not a great way off, in llie
plain, is such a burial-place, or made hillock, on which large oaks nuw
Btai.d."
THE WORKS AND RELICS OF AN EXTINCT PEOPLE.
perior in skill and intelligence to the Indian tribes
whom the first white visitors found in possession, '
Judge Veech says, —
" That these [the native Indians] were the succes-
sors of a race more intelligent, or of a people of dif-
ferent liabits of life, seems clearly deducible from the
remains of fortifications scattered all over the terri-
tory, and which are very distinct from those known
to have been constructed by the tribes of Indians
named or any of their modern compeers.
" These remains of embankments or ' old forts' are
numerous in Fayette County. That they are very
ancient is shown by many facts. The Indians known
to us could give no satisfactory account of when, how,
or by whom they were erected, or for what purpose, ex-
cept for defense. While the trees of the surrounding
forests were chiefly oak, the growths upon and within
the lines of the 'old forts' were generally of large black-
walnut, wild-cherry, and sometimes locust. We have
examined some which indicated an age of from three
to five hundred years, and they evidently of a second
or third generation, as they were standing amid the
decayed remains of their ancestors. How they got
there, whether by transplanting, by deposits of floods
or of birds, or otherwise, is a speculation into which
we will not go. .-
" These embankments may have been originally
composed of wood, as their debris is generally a veg-
etable mould. No stones were used in their construc-
tion, and among their ruins are always found some
remains of old pottery, composed of clay mixed with
crushed mussel-shells, even when far off from a river.
This composite was not burnt, but only baked in !
the sun. These vessels were generally circular, and, |
judging from those we have seen, they were made to '
hold from one to three quarts. I
"These 'old forts' were of various forms, — square,
oblong, triangular, circular, and semicircular. Their
superficial areas ranged from one-fourth of an acre to
ten acres. Their sites were generally well chosen in
reference to defense and observation, and, what is a
very singular fact, they were very often, generally in
Fayette County, located on the highest and richest i
hills, and at a distance from any spring or stream of j
water. In a few instances this was otherwise, water
being i
sed or contiguous, as they are generally ii
Ohio and other more western parts of the Missis- '
sippi Valley.
"Having seen and examined many of these 'old |
forts' in Fayette County, and also those at Marietta, |
Newark, and elsewhere in Ohio, we believe they are
all the works of the same race of people, as are also,
the famous Grave Creek mounds, near Elizabethtown, i
Va., and if this belief be correct, then the conclusion
follows irresistibly that the race of people was much
superior and existed long anterior to the modern In-
dian. But who they were, and what became of them, I
must perhaps forever be unknown. We will briefly
indicate the localities of some of these ' old forts' in '
Fayette County. To enumerate all, or to describe
them sei)arately, would weary the reader. The curi-
ous in such matters may yet trace their remains.
" A very noted one, and of most commanding lo-
cation, was at Brownsville, on the site of ' Fort
Burd,' but covering a much larger area. Even after
Col. Burd built his fort there, in IT')!!, it retained' the
names of ' the old fort,' ' Redstone Old Fort,' or ' Fort
Redstone.'
" There was one on land formerly of William Gee,
near the Monongahela River, and just above the
mouth of Little Redstone, where afterwards was a
settler's fort, called Cassel's or Castle Fort; and an
old map which we have seen has another of these old
forts noted at the mouth of Speers' Run, where Belle
Vernon now is.
" Two or three are found on a high ridge south-
wardly of Perryopolis, on the State road, and on land
late of John F. Martin. Another noted one is on the
western bank of the Youghiogheny River, nearly op-
posite the Broad Ford, ou land lately held by James
Collins.
"There are several on the high ridge of land lead-
ing from the Collins' fort, above referred to, south-
westwardly towards Plumsock, on lands of James
Paull, John M. Austin, John Bute, and others ; a re-
markable one being on land lately owned by James
Gilchrist and the Byers, where some very large human
bones have been found. There is one on the north
side of Mounts' Creek, above Irishman's Run.
" A very large one, containing six or eight acres,
is on the summit of Laurel Hill, where the Mud
pike crosses it, covered with a large growth of black-
walnut.
" One specially noted as containing a great quan-
tity of broken shells and pottery existed on the high
land between Laurel Run and the Youghiogheny
River, on a tract formerly owned by Judge Young.
"There are yet distinct traces of one on land of
Gen. Henry W. Beeson, formerly of Col. McClean,
about two miles east of Uniontown.
" There was one northeast of New Geneva, at the
locality known as the 'Flint Hill,' on laud now of
John Franks.
" About two miles northeast of New Geneva, ou
the road to Uniontown, and on land late of William
Morris, now Nicholas B. Johnson, was one celebrated
for its great abundance of mussel-shells.
" On the high ridge southwardly of the head-waters
of Middle Run several existed, of which may be
named one on the Bixler land, one on the high
knob eastwardly from Clark Breading's, one (m the
^ Mr. Veech did not (as some of his critics have Appeared to suppose)
intend to say thnt Burd's fort occupied the site and took the name uf
Redstone Old Fort. It was Iniilt a short distance from the site of tlie old
eartliworl;, and was always called Fort BurJ. But tlie tocalUy—a. prom-
inent point on the Monongahela — did retain the appellation of*' Bedstone
end Fort" for a great many years; and even at tlie present day no
reader of history is at a loss to undei-stand that the name designate;) the
site of the present borough of Brownsville.
IS
iiistohy of fayette county, pennsylyania.
Alexander Wilson tract, and one on theland of Den-
nis Riley, deceased, formerly of Andrew C. Johnson.
" These comprise the most prominent of the 'old
forts' in Fayette. Of their cognates, mounds erected j
as monuments of conquests, or, like the Pyramids of ;
Egypt, as the tombs of kings, we liave none. Those |
that we have seen are of diminutive size, and may j
have been thrown up to commemorate some minor
events, or to cover the remains of a warrior.
"Piles of stones called Indian graves were numer-
ous in many places in Fayette, generally near the
sites of Indian villages. They were generally on |
stony ridges, often twenty or thirty of them in a row.
In many of them have been found human bones in-
dicating a stature of from six to seven feet. They
also contained arrow-lieads, spear-points, and hatchets
of stone and flint, nicely and regularly shaped, but
how done is the wonder. On a commanding eminence
overlooking the Youghiogheny Eiver, upon land now
(1869) of Col. A. M. HilT, formerly William Dicker-
son, there are great numbers of these Indian graves,
among which, underneath a large stone, Mr. John
Cottoni a few years ago found a very curious chain,
consisting of a central ring and five chains of about
two feet in length, each branching off from it, having
at their end clamps, somewhat after the manner of j
handcuffs, large enough to inclose a man's neck, indi-
cating that its use was to confine prisoners, perhaps
to fasten them to the burning stake. The chains
were of an antique character but well made, and
seemed to have gone through fire."
Of all the prehistoric works noticed in the above
account by Mr. Veech, none was so tamed, none so '
widely known as the first one he mentions, — Redstone
Old Fort. In the early years it was frequently visited
and examined by antiquarians, and many descriptions
of it (all of them, however, apparently exaggerated
and embellished) were written. One of these ac-
counts is found on page 84 of "American Antiqui-
ties," by Josiah Priest, 1834, being taken from an
earlier account in the "Travels of Thomas Ashe,"
who claimed to have visited the old fort and made
some excavations there in the year 1806. The ac-
count is as follows :
" The neighborhood of Brownsville, or Redstone, in
Pennsylvania, abounds with monuments of antiquity.
A fortified camp of a very complete and curious kind,
on the ramparts of which is timber of five feet in
diameter, stands near the town of Brownsville. This
camp contains thirteen acres inclosed in a circle, the
elevation of which is seven feet above the adjoining
ground. This was a herculean work. Within the
circle a pentagon is accurately described, having its
sides four feet high, and its angles uniformly three
feet from the outside of the circle, thus leaving an
unbroken communication all around. A pentagon i'?
a figure having five angles or sides. Each side of thu
pentagon has a postern or small gateway, opening
into a passage between it and the circle, but the circle
itself has only one grand gateway outward. Exactly
in the centre stands a mound thirty feet high, sup-
posed to have been a place of lookout. At a small
distance from this jjlace was found a stone measuring
eight feet by five, on which was accurately engraved
a representation of the whole work, with the mound
in the centre, whereon was the likeness of a human
head, which signified that the chief who presided
there lay buried beneath it.
"The engraving on this stone is evidence of the
knowledge of stone-cutting, as it was executed with
a considerable degree of accuracy. On comparing
the description of this circular monument with a de-
scription of works of a similar character found in
Denmark, Sweden, and Ireland, the conclusion is
drawn that at some era of time the authors of this
kind of monumental works in either of those countries
have been the same."
Having given the above account, as written by
Ashe, it is proper to remark that he did, without
doubt, enlarge upon the plain facts, — in some particu-
lars, at least. Old residents of this locality — among
them Mr. Nelson B. Bowman, who was born in 1807,
within rifle-shot of the place indicated — say that the
account is unsupported by anything they have ever
seen or heard narrated by their fathers. Still, the
fact remains unquestioned that the first white ex-
plorers found here, within the present limits of
Brownsville, and occupying an elevated site which
commands the Monongahela River above and belo
an inclosure of several acres, surrounded by an earthen
embankment, evidently centuries old, antedating even
the most ancient traditions of the Indians, and this
mysterious work they christened Redstone Old Fort.
But the hand of Time has obliterated all traces of it,
and neither parapet nor central mound have been
visible for many years. So it is with the mounds
which have been mentioned as having existed in
other parts of Fayette County. By the processes of
agriculture, continued for generations, and by various
other means, they ha:ve become so far leveled that in
many cases not a trace remains, and in others the
outline is barely discernible of works which a cen-
tury ago stood out bold and clearly defined.
With regard to the origin of these ancient works
and relics many theories have been advanced, some
apparently reasonable and others wholly absurd.
Some writers on the subject have believed that they
were built by the French, while some have attributed
their construction to the Spanish.' Others, with more
1 nr. W tt Cll It n
1 1 >i n 1 c» 1 li> rt I I ef e 11 c Nc« 1 rk III.,
1 c 1 S c n inl>.
1 11 IlHling to tlo xanoii. inirtbillc lleoias
1 1 a ci b d tl
lulliii of tloo » Iks. tuLur 1 f I 1 All
\ 1 11 \ 1 1 r f
1 11 1 1 1 U k 1 m 1 ronoi J soint % ara
g U ttU. .
1 II tl 1 1 ^1 k 1 Olio
THE INDIAN OCCUPATION.
19
Rppareiit show of reason, have endeavored to prove
that the builders were the ancient Aztecs, and finally
some have advanced thcopinion that they were erected
by descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. What-
ever may be said of these latter theories, the idea of
their construction by the French or Spanish seems
wholly inadmissible, on account of the number and
e.\tent of the works west of the AUeghanies ; again,
on account of their evident antiquity, many of them
having from every appearance been erected long before
the discovery of America, and finally by their form,
which is entirely diti'erent from any system of Euro-
pean fortification, ancient or modern.
This much and no more may be set down as
reasonably certain, that these. works were roared by a
people who preceded those found here by the first Eu-
ropean visitors, but whether they were Aztecs, Toltecs,
or of Jewish origin, as some have supposed, is a ques-
tion which will probably never be solved. The imagi-
n.ition, unrestrained by facts, may roam at will in the
realm of ingenious speculation, but the subject is one
of pure conjecture which it is not profitable to pursue.
CHAPTER III.
THE IXDI.VX OCCIPATIOX.
Theuk is nothing found either in written history
or in tradition to show that the section of country
which now forms the county of Fayette was ever the
permanent home of any considerable number of the
aboriginal i)eople whom we know as Indians, the suc-
cessors of the mysterious mound-builders.
When the first white traders (who preceded the
earliest actual settlers by several years) came into this
region, they found it partially occupied by roving
Indian bands, who had here a few temporary villages,
or more properly camps, but whose principal perma-
nent settlements were within a few miles of the con-
fluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers,
its vicinity, lie at liist assigned it to tlie awiiie tbat generally, ns he saiil,
attended the Spanish in tliose days, it being, in his opiniun, very necessary
in order to prevent them from becoming estrays and to protect them
from the depredations of the Indians.
"Lewis Dennie, a Frenchman, aged upwar U .r - v. 1,1 v , .nil who had
been settled and nianied among thcCunr<'<I": t - ^ " ,11 i- fnrniore
tlinn hiilfa century, told me in ISIO Ihni. i : litionsof
the ancient Indians, these forts were ore i i t ^ n i .n-. 1 >i';\i)iurde,
who were the firet Europeans ever seen l-y th-Mu vtho French ne.vt, then
the Dntch.nnd finally the English); that this army first appeared at
Oswego in great force, and penetrated through the interior of the conn-
try searching for the precious metals; that they continued there two
years and then went down the Ohio." After giving several reasons why
this account was to be considered unworthy of 1 elief, Mr. Clinton con-
tinued : " It is equally clear that they were not the work of the Indi:ins.
Until the Senecas, who are reuownfd for their national vanity, had seen
tlie attention of the Americans attracted to these erections, and had in-
Tented the fabulous accouut of which 1 have spoken, the Indians of the
present day did not pretend to know anything about the origin of these
works. They wore beyond the reach uf all their traditions, and were
lost in the ai'vss of unexplored antiquity.'*
both above and below that point. These were com-
posed of the Delaware and Shawanese' tribes and
some colonized bands of Iroquois, or "Mingoes," as
they were commonly called, who rei)reseiited the
powerful Si.x Nations of New York. These last named
were recognized as the real owners of the lands on
the upi)cr Ohio, the Allegheny, and the Monongahela
Rivers, and it was only by their permission- that the
Delawares and Shawanese were allowed to occupy the
1 Zeisbergor, tho Moravian, wiys, "Tho Shawnnos, a warlike people,
lived in Florida, but having been subdued in war by tho Moshkos, they
left their land and moved to Susquehanna, and from one place to another.
Sleeting a strong parly of Delawares, and relating to them their forlorn
condition, they took them into their protection as grai)tlehildrcn ; tho
Shnwaiios called the Delaware nation thiir .jmu.tfnlhet: They lived
thereupon in tho Forks of tho Delaware, anil -.iil..l f.i .i luuc in AVy- '
oming. When they had increased again tl.i w I'tstotho
Allegheny." 'When they came from th.- i..^ ' ; : ■ .\ located
at and near Montonr's Island, below the ..onilu- 1 1 i;..' .\ll.-ghcny
and Slononguhela. Tho Delawares cnmo with tliern to Ih.. Wrat. both
tiiUes having boon ordered away from tho valleys of tho Delaware and
Susiiuehunua by the Iroquois, wheni they were compelled by conquest
to recognize as tliclr nnistors.
! Tho fact that tho Six Nations wero tho acknowledged owners of this
region of country, and that the Shawanese and Delawares wore hero
only on sufl'eiance, seems clear. At tho ti-eaty held with tho Indians
at Fort Pitt, in May, 1708, a Shawanese chief comidained bitterly to
the English of their encroachniunt^, iind said, " Wo desired you to de-
stroy your folts. . . . Wo also desired you not to go down tho river."
In the next day's council, Guyiisullia, a chief of the Six Nations, rose,
with a copy of the lrv:i I, f 1, l.nl liil, "By this treaty yon had a
light to build fi-rts mi : 1 lu re you pleased, and to travel
the road of peace from 1 1 1 r- sun setting. Atthuttrcaty
the Delawares and .si,;, .. m ,. «. 1. «i;li uio and they know all this well;
and they should nevei- have ajioU.-ii to .vou as they did yesterday." Soon
after, the Shawanese chief, Kissinaughta, roso and said, apologetically,
to tho English, "You desired us to speak from our hearts and tell you
what gave us uneasiuess of iniial, and wo did so. We are very sorry
wo should have said anything to give offense, and wo acknowledge we
were in the wrong."
In 'tho same year (1708), when the Pennsjlvnnia commissioners,
-Mien and Shippen, proposed t. il.. TriMuis t 1 =.-nd a deputation of
chiefs wini
ilitOE
white settlors who had located «r 1 : . n iho Monongahela
Elver and Bedstone Creek, in wli.n i. n v, 1 i.ui 1. unity, the"Whito
Mingo" (whose " Castle" was on tlie west side of the Allegheny, a few-
miles above its mouth) and throe other chiefs of tho Six Nations wcio
selected to go on that luisbioii, but no notice was taken of the Delaware
or Shawanese chiefs in the matter, uliicli allows clearly enough that
these two tribes were not reganliil .- 1 imi j n 1 Aiicrshipin the lauds.
And it is related liy George c.._ nl of a treaty council
held with the Six Nations at Lo„ I ; 1, below Pittsburgh,
in 1751, that "A Dunkord from Vm„i..i.i ..ii.m I., town and requested
leave to settle on the Yo-yo-gaiue [Yoiighioglieny] River, a branch of
the Ohio. He was told that he must apply to the Onondaga Council
aud be recommended hy the Governor of Pennsylvania." Tlie Onondaga
the central headquarters of the Six Nations.
Another fact that shows the Six Nations to have been the recognized
owners of this region of country is that when the surveyors wero about
to extend tho Mason and Dixon line westward, in 1707, the proprietaries
asked, not of the Delawares and Shawanoao but of the Iroqin)i3 (Six Na.
tions) permission to do so. This permission was given by their chiefs,
who also sent several of their warriors to accompany tho surveying
party. Their presence afforded to the white men tho desired protection,
and the Shawanese and Delawares dared not offer any molestation.
But after the Iroquois escort left (as they did at a point on tho ^larylaud
line) tho other Indians became, in the absence of their masters, so de-
fiant and threatening that the surveyors were compelled to ubaudon the
running of the line west of Dunkard Creek.
Finally, it was not from the Delawares and Shawanese but from tho
Six Nations that the Penns purchased this teriitory by tin-- treaty of
FortStanwix in 1708.
20
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
hunting-grounds extending from the head of the Ohio
eastward to the Alleghenies. Still thej' ahva3-s boldly
claimed these lands as their own, except when they
were confronted and rebuked by the chiefs of the Six
Nations. At a conference held with the Indians at
Fort Pitt in 17()8, " the Beaver," a chief speaking in
behalf of the Delawares and Mohicans, said, "Breth-
ren, the country lying between this river and the Al-
legheny Mountain has always been our hunting-
ground, and the white people who have scattered
themselves over it have by their hunting deprived
us of the game which we look upon ourselves to have
the only right to. . . ." And it is certain that, though
the Iroquois were the owners of these hunting-grounds,
they were occupied almost exclusively by the Dela-
wares and Shawanese. Washington, in his journal
of a trip which he made down the Ohio from the
mouth of the Allegheny in 1770, says, " The In-
dians who reside upon the Ohio, the upper part of it
at least, are composed of Shawanese, Delawares, and
some of the Mingoes. . . ." And in the journal of
his mission to the French posts on the Allegheny,
seventeen years before, he said, " About two miles
from this (he then being at the mouth of the Alle-
gheny), on the south side of the river (Ohio), at the
place where the Ohio Company intended to lay off
their fort, lives Shingiss, king of the Delawares.'"
The exact point where this '" king" was located is
said to have been at the mouth of Chartiers Creek,
and the principal settlements of his people were clus-
tered around the head of the Ohio. From here and
from the neighboring settlements of the Shawanese
■went forth from time to time the hunting-parties of
those tribes, which formed the principal part of the
Indian population of the territory of the present
county of Fayette.
These Indians had, as has already been remarked,
but very few settlements east of the Monongahela,
and most of those they had wore more of the nature
of temporary camps than of permanent villages.
Judge Veech, in his " Monongahela of Old," men-
tions those which he knew of as existing within the
limits of Fayette County, as follows: "Our territory
(Fayette County) having been an Indian hunting-
ground, had within it but few Indian towns or vil-
lages, and these of no great magnitude or celebrity.
There was one on the farm of James Ewing, near the
southern corner of Redstone and the line between
German and Luzerne townships, close to a fine lime-
stone spring. Near it, on a ridge, were many Indian
graves. Another was near where Abram Brown
lived, about four miles west of Uniontown. There
was also one on the land of John M. Austin, formerly
Samuel Stevens', near Sock. The only one we know
of north of the Youghiogheny was on the Strickler
land, eastward of the Broad Ford."
1 King Shingiss, liowover, was inferior in tank and power to Tanacli-
arison, the Half-King, who was a sachem of tlio Six Nations, residing
There was also an Indian village on the Mononga-
hela, at the mouth of Catt's Run, and it is said that
this village was at one time the home of the chief
Cornstalk, who commanded the Indian forces at the
battle of Point Pleasant, Va., in 1774.
On the Monongahela, at the mouth of Dunlap's
Creek, where the town of Brownsville now stands,
was the residence of old Nemacolin, who, as it ap-
pears, was a chief, but with very few, if any, warriors
under him, though it is not unlikely that he had had
a respectable following in the earlier years, before the
whites found him here. It was this Indian who guided
Col. Thomas Cresap across the Alleghenies, in the first
journey which he made to the West from Old Town,
Md., for the Ohio Company in 1749. The route which
they then pursued was known for many years as
"Nemacolin's path." Later in his life this Indian
removed from the Monongahela and located on the
Ohio River. It is believed that the place to which
he removed was the island now known as Blenner-
hassett's Island, in the Ohio, below Parkersburg, AV.
Va. ; the reason for this belief being that there is
found, in Gen. Richard Butler's journal of a trip
down that river in 1785, with Col. James Monroe
(afterwards President of the United States), to treat
with the Miami Indians, mention of their passing, in
the river between the mouths of the Little Kanawha
and Hocking, an island called " Nemacolin's Island."
This was, without much doubt, the later residence of
the old chief of that name.
An old Indian named Bald Eagle, who had been a
somewhat noted warrior (but not a chief) of the Dela-
ware tribe, had his home somewhere on the Upper
Monongahela, probably at the village at the mouth
of Catt's Run, but whether there or higher up the
river near Morgantown is not certainly known. He
was a very harmless and peaceable man and friendly
to the settlers, yet he was killed without cause about
1765, and the cold-blooded murder was charged by
the Indians upon white men. Of the Bald Eagle and
the circumstances of his death, Mr. Veech says, " He
was on intimate terms with the early settlers, with
whom he hunted, fished, and visited. He was well
known along our Monongahela border, up and down
which he frequently passed in his canoe. Somewhere
up the river, probably about the mouth of Cheat, he
was killed, by whom or on what pretense is unknown.-
His dead body, placed upright in his canoe, with a
piece of corn-bread in his clinched teeth, was set
adrift in the river. The canoe came ashore at Prov-
- Withers, in his '-Chronicles of Border Warfare," states tlie coso dif-
ferently, and gives the names of tho innrJer.is. He savs, "Tlio Bald
Eagle was an Indian of notoriety, not niil\ i>_ lil- . \mi uiition, hnt
also with the inhabitantsof the Nortli\V' ' uli whom ho
was in the liabit of associating and hiuitii._ ! v !>ils among
them lie was discovered alone hy Jiuvl' -^ n. N\ i ' ;.i Ihuker, and
Elijah Knnner, who, reckless of the conscqneiirr*, rdt-i cd him, solely
to gratify a most wanton thirst for Indian blood. After the commission
of this most outrageous enormity, they seated him in the stern of a
canoe, with a piece of juurney-cakc thrust into his mouth, and set Ilim
afloat iu tlie Monongahela."
THE INDIAN OCCUPATION.
21
ancc's Bottom, where the familiar old Indian was at
once recognized by the wife of William Yard Prov-
ance, who wondered he did not leave his canoe. On
close observation she found he was dead. She had
him decently buried on the Fayette shore, near the
early residence of Robert McClean, at what was
known as McClean's Ford. This murder was re-
garded by both whites and Indians as a great out-
rage, and the latter made it a prominent item in their
list of grievances."
A number of Indian paths or trails traversed this
county in various directions. The principal one of
these was the great war-path over which the Senecas
and other tribes of the Si.x Nations traveled from their
homes in the State of New York on their forays against
Cherokees and other Southern tribes in the Carolinas,
Georgia, and Tennessee. This was known as the
Cherokee or Catawba Trail. Passing from the " Gen-
esee country" of Western New York, down the valley
of the Allegheny, it left that river in the present
county of Armstrong, Pa., and traversing Westmore-
land, entered the territory of Fayette near its north-
eastern e.\tremity, crossing Jacob's Creek at the mouth
of Bushy Run. From there its route was southwcst-
wardly, passing near the present village of Pennsville
to the Yougliiogheny River, which it crossed just
below the mouth of Opossum Run ;' thence up that
small stream for some distance, and then on, by way
of Mount Braddock, to Redstone Creek, at the point
where Uniontown now stands. From there it passed
in a general southwesterly direction, through the pres-
ent townships of South Union, Georges, and Spring
Hill ; and crossing Cheat River at the mouth of Grassy
Run, passed out of the county southward into Vir-
ginia, on its route to the Holston River and the Caro-
linas. From this main trail, at a point a little south
of Georges Creek, in Fayette County, there struck off
a tributary path known as the Warrior Branch,- which
passed thence across the Cheat and Monongahela
Rivers, and up the valley of Dunkard Creek into Vir-
ginia. It was at this trail, near the second crossing
of Dunkard Creek, that the surveyors who were run-
ning the extension of the Mason and Dixon line, in
October, 17(37, were compelled to stop their work, on
account of the threats of the Delaware and Shawanese
warriors, and their positive refusal to allow the party
to proceed farther west; and it was not until fifteen
years later that the line was run beyond this trail.
An Indian path much used by the natives was one
which led from the " Forks of the Ohio" (now Pitts-
burgh) to the Potomac River at the mouth of Wills'
Creek (where Cumberland, Md., now stands). This
was known as " Nemacolin's Path" or trail, though
it was doubtless traveled by Indian parties many
years, and perhaps ages, before the birth of the old
Delaware whose name it bore." This trail, starting
from the head of the Ohio, joined the Cherokee trail
in Westmoreland County, and from the point of junc-
tion the two trails were nearly identical as far south
as Mount Braddock, at which point Nemacolin's trail
left the other, and took a southeasterly course, by way
of the Great Meadows, in the present township of
Wharton, the Great Crossings of the Yougliiogheny,
near the .southeast corner of Fayette County ; thence
it crossed the southwestern corner of Somerset County
into Maryland. There were numerous other trails
traversing the county of Fayette, but none of them
as important or as much traveled as those above men-
tioned.
These trails were the highways of the Indians, —
the thoroughfares over which they journeyed on their
business of the chase or of war, just as white people
pursue their travel and traffic over their graded roads.
" An erroneous impression obtains among many at
the present day," says Judge Veech, " that the In-
dian, in traveling the interminable forests which once
covered our towns and fields, roamed at random, like
a modern afternoon hunter, by no fixed paths, or that
he was guided in his long journeyings solely by the
sun and stars, or by the courses of the streams and
mountains. And true it is that these untutored sons
of the woods were considerable astronomers and geog-
raphers, and relied much upon these unerring guide-
marks of nature. Even in the most starless night
they could determine their course by feeling the bark
of the oak-trees, which is always smoothest on the
south side, and roughest on the north. But still they
had their trails or paths, as distinctly marked as are
our county and State roads, and often better located.
The wdiite traders adopted them, and often stole their
names, to be in turn surrendered to the leader of some
Anglo-Saxon army, and finally obliterated by some
costly highway of travel and commerce. They are
* The place whoro this trail crossed tlie Yougliiogheny was identical
with that where Gen. Braddock cruaacd his army, on his march towards
Tort Du Quesnc, in 1755.
- Judge Ve<'ch describes the route of this trail (proceeding northward)
naftdlows: ** A tributary trail called the Warrior Bninch, coming from
Tennessee, through Kentucky and Southern Ohio, came up Fish Creek
and down Dunkard, crossing Clieat Kiver at McFarland's. It mn out a
junction with the chief trail, intersecting it at William Gans' sugar-
camp (between Morris' Cross-Roads and Georges Creek, in Spring Hill
township), but it kept on by Crow's Mill, James Robinson's, and the old
pun factory (in Nicholson township) and thence towards the mouth of
Bedstone; intersecting the old Redstone trail from the lop of Laurel Hill,
near Jackson's, or Grace Church, on the N'ational road."
3 It received this name from the fact that when theold " Ohio Company"
was preparing to go into the Indian trade at the head of the Ohio, in the
year 1740, one of the principal agents of that company — Col. Thomaa
Cresnp, of Ohl Town, 5Id.— employed the Indian Nemacolin (who lived,
as before mentioned, at the mouth of Dnnlap's Creek, on the Monongahela)
to guide him over the liest route for a pack-horse path from the Potomac
to the Indian villages on the Ohio, a short distance below the confluence
of the Allegheny and Monongahela. The old Indian pointed out the
path in question as being the most feasible route, and it wils atlopted.
In 1754, Washington followed its line with liis tmops as far north and
west as Gist's plantjilion.in Fayette County ; and in 1755, Gen. Braddock
made it, with few variations, his route of march from Fort Cumberland
to Gill's, and tlience northwardly to near the point in Westmoreland
County where lie first crossed the Monongahela.
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
now almost wholly effaced and forgotten. Hundreds
travel along or plow across them, unconscious that
they are in the footsteps of the red man."
The Indian history connected with the annals of
Fayette County is very meagre. During the military
operations of the years 1754 and 1700, when the op-
posing forces of England and Franco marched to and
fro over the hills and through the vales of this
county, they were accompanied on both sides by In-
dian allies, who did their share of the work of
slaughter, as will be narrated in the history of those
campaigns, given in succeeding pages. After the
French and their Indian allies had e.xpelled the Eng-
lish power from the region west of the Alleghenies, in
175o, nearly all the Indians of the Allegheny and
Monongahela Valleys sided with the victorious
French ; but many years elapsed from that time be-
fore there were any white settlers here to be molested,
and when they did come to make their homes here
they suffered very little from .«uch outrages as were i
constantly committed by the savages upon the inhabit- I
ants west of the Monongahela. This was doubtless
largely due to the fact that the red men regarded the
people east of that river as Pennsylvanians, with
whom they were on comparatively friendly terms ;
while those west of the same stream were considered
by them to be VirginianSj against whom they held
feelings of especial hatred and malignity. With the
exception of the murder of two men on Burnt Cabin
Eun,' and the taking of some prisoners south of
Georges Creek, the inhabitants of the territory that is
now Fayette County were entirely exempt from the
savage incursions and barbarities with which the
people living between them and the O'lio River were
so often visited during the thirty years of Indian
warfare and raidings which preceded Gen. Anthony
Wayne's decisive victory on the Maumee, in August,
1794.
1 The ch-curash
COS nttoiiaing this Iinlian mil.:,.-
hy Judge Veech :
Tliis case, iis leliit.il U I - i '
'• :; 111, 1,11, an uhl
Boldier unci settlor
iitthophicelinuw.nl- Ji , . 1,
1 MiMenallen
township, was llius
rAh.iiit three una;, II, 11 „n;
thosi.iuli "il-of 1
• r- ^\:h- or HentuU iMH.i. ulu, l, 1
•mis Horn the poor-
\ rods of the roiiJ,
: 1 lull Wouawaril, uro the rem
linsof anoldclear-
chilnrMV l« ..
::; ; !!'"!;;: "";',r,!'!ti"M'
reniaiiis of an (.111
l.-lilUl^, tllr.ll.lill
CHAPTER IV.
THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH CLAIMS TO THE
TRANS-ALLEGHENY REGION— GEORGE WASHING-
TON'S VISIT TO THE FRENCH FORTS IN 1753.
The written history of the section of country em-
braced in and between the valleys of the Mononga-
hela and Youghiogheny Rivers, like that of all this
part of the State of Pennsylvania, commences at
about the middle of the eighteenth century. At that
time both France and England were asserting their
respective claims to the dominion of this wilderness
region west of the mountains ; and it was in the con-
flict which resulted from the attempts of each of
these rivals to expel the other, and to enforce their
own alleged rights by the fact of actual possession,
that the events occurred that are here to be narrated,
and which mark the beginning of the history of the
southwestern counties of Pennsylvania.
The claim which France made to the ownership of
this territory was based on the fact that the adventu-
rous explorer La Salle descended the Mississippi
River in 1682, and at its mouth, on the 9th of April
in that year, took formal possession, in the name of
the French sovereign, of all the valley of the mighty
stream, and of all the regions, discovered and to be
discovered, contiguous to it, or to any and all of its
tributaries. Sixty-seven years later (1749), Captain
Celeron, an officer in the service of the king of
France, and having under his command a force of
about three hundred men, penetrated southward to
the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela
Rivers, where he took and confirmed the French pos-
session of the v.allcys of these tributaries, burying
metallic plates, duly inscribed with a record of the
event, as evidences of actual occupation.
England, on the other hand, claimed the country
by virtue of a treaty made with the Six Nations at
Lancaster in June, 1744, when the Indians ceded to
the British king an immense scope of territory west
of the royal grant to Penn,'^ co-extensive with the
limits of Virginia, which at that time were of indefi-
nite extent. At a subsequent treaty held (in 1752) at
Logstown, on the Ohio, below Pittsburgh, one of the
Iroquois chiefs, who had also t.aken part in the Lan-
caster treaty, declared that it had not been the inten-
tion of his people to convey to the English any lands
west of the Alleghenies, but that, nevertheless, they
would not oppose the white man's definition of the
boundaries.
The Six Nations in council had also decided that,
notwithstanding their friendship for the English,
they would remain neutral in the contest which they
saw was imminent between that nation and the 1
French, both of which were now using every effort
1 snppospil at that t
Penn's Western 1
GEORGE WASHINGTON'S VISIT TO THE FRENCH FORTS IN 1753.
to strcngtlicn tliemsclves in the occupation of the
territory bordering the head-waters of the Oliio.
In the year 1750 the "Oliio Com))any" (acting
under an English charter and royal grant, the opera-
tion of whidi will be noticed elsewhere) sent its
agent, Cliristophcr Gist, to the Ohio River, to explore
the country along that stream, with a view to its occu-
pation and settlement. I'nder these instructions he
viewed the country along the west bank of the river,
from the mouth of the Allegheny southwestwardly to
the Falls of the Ohio (opposite the present city of
Louisville, Ky.), and in the following year (1751) he
explored the other side of the stream down to the
mouth of the Great Kanawha. In 1752 he was pres-
ent, as agent of the " Ohio Company," at the Logs-
town treaty, already mentioned, and took part, with
Col. Joshua Fry and the two other commissioners of
Virginia, in the proceedings with the chiefs of the
Six Nations.
These and other movements on the part of those
acting under authority of the British king, caused the
French to bestir thcmselvesv, and move more energeti-
cally towards the occupation of the country west of
the AUeghenies. Early in 1753 they began to move
southward from Lake Ontario through the wilder-
ness towards the Allegheny River, and on the 21st of
May in that year intelligence was received that a
party of one hundred and fifty French and Indians
" had arrived at a camping-jjlace leading from the
Niagara to the head of the Ohio.'" Again, on the
7th of August, a report was received " of the passage
of a large number of canoes, with French troops by
Oswego, on their way to the Ohio."
This intelligence of the aggressive movements of
the French caused the English home government to
adopt more energetic measures than had ])reviously
been employed to meet and resist their advance into
the Ohio River country. Among the official commu-
nications addressed by the Earl of Holderness, sec-
retary of state, to the governors of the several Ameri-
can provinces, w.-is one to Governor Dinwiddle of
Virginia, containing directions concerning the French
encroachments. The letter of the secretary was sent
by a government ship, and reached Dinwiddie in Oc-
tober, 1753. In pursuance of the instructions con-
tained, the governor appointed and commissioned
George Washixgton, then a youth of only twenty-
one years," but one of the adjutants-general of the
military forces of Virginia, as bearer of dispatches to
the commanding ofliccr of the intruding French on
the Ohio,'' — charged, also, with the duty of ascertain-
ing the numbers and efjuipmcnt of the French forces
there, what forts, if any, they had erected, and vari-
ous other items of military intelligence, which are
made clear in his letter of instructions, of which the
following is a copy:
" micrca-i, I have received information of a body
of French forces being assembled in a hostile manner
on the river Ohio, intending by force of arms to erect
certain forts on the said river within this territory,
and contrary to the dignity and peace of our sov-
ereign, the king of Great Britain.
"These are therefore to require and direct you, the
said George Washington, forthwith to repair to Logs-
town, on the said river Ohio, and, having there in-
formed yourself where the said French forces have
posted themselves, thereupon to i)roceed to such
place, and, being there arrived, to present your cre-
dentials, together with my letter to the chief com-
manding officer, and in the name of his Britannic
Majesty to demand an answer thereto.
" On your arrival at Logstown you are to address
yourself to the Half-King, to Monacatoocha, and the
other sachems of the Six Nations, acquainting them
with your orders to visit and deliver my letter to the
- Fulluwing is a copy of the cominiBsion :
"To Gr.onaE Wasiiisotox, Esqiii:k, onr of the Apjitants-Gexerai
OF THE TlKJOrS AND KulUKS IX TIIE COLOXY OF VlKOIXIA.
" I, ii'p jsiiig I'spfCial ti u»t anil conlWujico in tlie ability, conduct, .iml
li<lilily of you, the mill GEOliCE Wasuixoion, Imve appointed you my
cxpi-css messenger; and you are hereby ntitliori/.ed nnd eiupowei-ed
to jiroceed lieuce with all convonlollt and possible disputcli to tlie part
erOhio,
the CO
the 1
nch I
I fort
Imv gl e d t e ii 11
thii »» k o of tie 11
1 1
03 tie II 1
1 e JO
nud tl 1 1
1 1 1 1 c t
CilJ f 1 1
e (1 of J 11 tl
Oltlo" 1 I
lol 1 1 tie; » ono Ij
iscia 1 1 II
lo 1 re^ 1 I tl Allegl e j
«stl If 1 1 tW
si ton 1 J rn I an 1 1 s
paM 3 e t ene „ 8 b fc
I t i tIeOl o A otler
mime which the French pive to the Ohio, iind applied to the stream
e en to;ihe head of the .\IIegheny, wa.
" La Belle Kiviire,"— The Beauti-
lit of tlie French forces n-sitlcs, in
unler to deliver my letter ami nicsoijige to Iijm; hikI after waiting nut ex-
ceo.lin- uito wi-ck fur nn answer, you aro to tako your leave aud reiiiru
1 'I [111— it m I liavo set my hand and caused the grent seiil of
til- I 1,1 ii t I f iiiTixcd, at the ciry uf Wjlliauisburg, the seat of my
•:"\--i i;ini)it, ilii- :;iiili day of Octol.er, in the twenty-seventh year of the
rtign ot his M:jrsiy Giurge the Second, King of Ureut Britain, &c., &c.,
aniioipie Duniini ITJ^.
"RoBF.nT DlXWIDDIK.*'
And the following wns the tenor of the Goveniov's pu6?;[>ort :
"Wherea», I have npiKiinted George Washington, Keqniro, \<y cnm-
mission under the great !<cul, my express messenger to the couiniandunt
of the French forces on the liver Ohio, and as he is charged with busi-
ness of great imiwrtancc to his Slajesty antl this dominion,
■ *■ I do herehy command all his Mnjosty's suhjects, and particularly re-
quire all iu alliance and amity uilli the crown of Great Biitain, ami all
others to whoni this passport may c^^me, agreeably to the law- of nations,
^• he aiding and assisting as a safeguard to the said George Wiishingloii
and his attendants iu his present pa»sago to and from tlio river Olfio, as
aforesaid.
"KOBEKT Dixwint)iK,"
3 He had previously sent a messenger on a similar errand. In a letter
to the Lords of Trade he said, *• My last to you was on the ICth of June,
to which I beg you to lie referred. . . . The person sent as a commis-
sioner to the commandant of the French forces neglected his duty, and
went no further than Logstown on the Ohio. lie reports the French
were then one hundred and iifty miles farther up the river, and I believe
24
niSTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
French commanding cfBcer, and desiring tlie said
chiefs to appoint you a sufficient number of their
warriors to be your safeguard as near tlie French as
you may desire, and to wait your furtlicr direction.
"You are diligently to inquire into the numbers
and force of the French on the Ohio and the adjacent
country ; how they are likely to be assisted from Can-
ada ; and what are the difficulties and conveniences
of that communication, and the time required for it.
" You are to take care to be truly informed what
forts the French have erected, and where ; how they
are garrisoned and appointed, and what is their dis-
tance from each other, and from Logstown ; and from
the best intelligence you can procure, you are to learn
what gave occasion to this expedition of the French;
liow they are likely to be supported, and what their
pretensions are.
" When the French commandant has given you the
required and necessary dispatches, you are to desire
of him a proper guard to protect you as far on your
return as you may judge for your safety, against any
straggling Indians or hunters that may be ignorant
of your character, and molest you. Wishing you
good success in your negotiation, and safe and speedy
return, I am, &c.,
"Robert Dinwiddie.
" Wii.LlAMSBVlto, 30 OctoljCM-, 1753."
On the day of his appointment Washington left
Williamsburg, and on the 31st reached Fredericks-
burg, Va., where he employed Jacob Van Braam as a
French interpreter. The two then went to Alexan-
dria, where some necessary purchases were made.
Thence they proceeded to Winchester, whjre pack-
horses were purchased ; after which they rode to
Wills' Creek (Cumberland, Md.), arriving there on
the 14th of November. " Here," said Washington
in his journal of the tour, " I engaged Mr. Gist' to
pilot us out, and also hired four others as servitors, —
Barnaby Currin and John McQuire, Indian traders,
Henry Steward, and William Jenkins; and in com-
pany with these persons left the inhabitants the next
day""
The party, now including seven persons, moved
from Wills' Creek in a northwesterly direction, and
crossing the Youghiogheuy River into what is now
Fayette County, proceeded by way of Gist's place,^
to Frazier's, on the Monongahela, ten miles above its
junction with the Allegheny. They had found the
traveling through the wilderness so difficult that the
journey to this point from Wills' Creek occupied a
week. Referring to this part of the route, the jour-
nal says, " The excessive rains and vast quantities of
1 Christoplier Gist, agent of the "Oliio Company," who, a few montlis
previuiisly— in I7j3— had locate;! and liuilt a cabin nair tlie centre of
the teniti>ry of tlio present county of Fayette, at the place now known
as Mount Braddock.
- " According to the beet observation I could make," said Washington
in his journal, "Mr. Gist's new settlement (wliicli wo passed by) bears
about wcst-uorthwcrit, seventy miles from Wills' CreeUb."
snow which had fallen prevented our reaching Mr.
Frazier's, an Indian trader, at tlie mouth of Turtle
Creek, on Monongahela River, till Thursday the 22d.
We were informed here that expresses had been sent
a few days before to the traders down the river, to
acquaint them with the French general's death, and
the return of the major part of the French army into
winter quarters. The waters were quite impassable
without swimming our horses, which obliged us to
get the loan of a canoe from Frazier, and to send Bar-
naby Currin and Henry Steward down the Mononga-
hela with oua baggage to meet us at the forks of the
Ohio."
Crossing the Allegheny, Washington found Shin-
giss, the Delaware king, who accompanied the party
to Logstown, which they reached in twenty-five days
from Williamsburg. On their arrival they found the
Indian Monakatoocha, but the Half-King was absent,
hunting. Washington told the former, through his
Indian interpreter, John D.^vidson, that he had come
as a messenger to the French general, and was ordered
to call and inform the sachems of the Six Nations of
the fact. The Half-King^ was sent for by runners,
and at about three o'clock in the afternoon of the
25th he came in, and visited Washington in his tent,
where, through the interpreter, Davidson, he told him
that it was a long way to the headquarters of the
French commandant on the Allegheny. " He told
me," says the journal, " that the nearest and levelest
way was now impassable by reason of many large
miry savannahs ; that we must be obliged to go by
Venango, and should not get to the near fort in less
than five or six nights' sleep, good traveling." He
told Washington that he must wait until a proper
guard of Indians could be furnished him. " The
people whom I have ordered in," said he, "are not
yet come, and cannot, until the third night from this;
until which time, brother, I must beg you to stay.
I intend to send the guard of Mingoes, Shannoahs,
and Delawares, that our brothers may see the love and
loyalty we bear them."
Washington was anxious to reach his destination at
the earliest possible time, but, in deference to the
wishes of the friendly Tanacharison, he remained
until the 30th of November, when, as it is recorded
in the journal, "We set out about nine o'clock with
the Half-King, Jeskakake, White Thunder, and the
Hunter, and traveled on the road to Venango, where
we arrived the fourth of December, without anything
remarkable happening but a continued series of bad
weather. This is an old Indian town, situated at the
mouth of French Creek, on the Ohio, and lies near
north about sixty miles from Logstown, but more
than seventy the way we were obliged to go."
On the 7th the party set out from Venango for the
3 Tanacharison, the Half-King, was and always continued to be a firm
and steadfast friend of the English, but lie lived less tlian a jear fmm
tlie time when Wasliington met him at Logstown. His deatli occurred
at Uanislurg, Pa. (Ihou Ilarris' Ferry), in October, 1754.
GEORGE WASHINGTON'S VISIT TO THE FRENCH FORTS IN 1733.
French fort, and reached it on the 11th, having been
greatly impeded "by excessive rains, snows, and bad
traveling through many mires and swamps." On
the 12th, Washington waited on the commander, ac-
quainted him with the business on whicii he came,
and in the afternoon exhibited his commission, and
delivered the letter from Governor Dinwiddle. While
it was being translated he employed his time in tak-
ing the dimensions of the fort and making other
observations with which he was charged. In the
evening of the 14th he received the answer of the
commandant to the Governor; but although he wa.s
now ready to set out on his return, he could not get
away until the second day after that, as the French,
although treating him with the greatest outward show
of politeness, were using every artifice with his In-
dians to seduce them from their allegiance and friend-
ship to the English, and were constantly plying them
with brandy, which made the Indians loth to leave
the place. Washington could not well go without
them, and even if he could have done so, he would
have been very unwilling to leave them behind him,
subject to the dangerous influence of the French offi-
cers and French brandy.
Finally, on the 16th, he induced the Half-King and
other Indians to leave, and set out from the fort for
Venango, which was reached on the 22d. There the
chiefs were determined to remain fora time, and there-
fore Washington's party was compelled to proceed
without them, accompanied only by the Indian, Young
Hunter, whom the Half-King had ordered to go with
them as a guide. The journal of Washington narrates
theevents of this stage of the journey as follows: "Our
horses were now so weak and feeble, and the baggage
80 heavy (as we were obliged to provide all the ne-
cessaries which the journey would require), that we
doubted much their performing it. Therefore, myself
and the others, except the drivers, who were obliged
to ride, gave up our horses for packs to assist along
with the baggage. I put myself in an Indian walk-
ing-^dress, and continued with them three days, until
I found there was no probability of their getting
home in reasonable time. The horses became less
able to travel every day, the cold increased very fast,
and the roads were becoming much worse by a deep
snow, continually freezing; therefore, as I was uneasy
to get back to make report of my proceedings to his
Honor, the Governor, I determined to prosecute my
journey the nearest way through the woods on foot.
Accordingly, I left Mr. Van Braaui in charge of our
baggage, with money and directions to provide ne-
cessaries from place to place for themselves and horses,
and to make the most convenient dispatch in travel-
ing. I took my necessary papers, pulled off my
clothes, and tied myself up in a watch-coat. Then,
with gun in hand and pack on my back, in which were
my papers and provisions, I set out with Mr. Gist,
fitted in the same manner, on Wednesday the 26th."
On the following day the two tr:ivek'r.s fell in with
a jiarty of French Indians,' one of whom fired on
them, but fortunately missed. They took the fellow
in custody, and kept him with them till nine o'clock
at night, when they let him go, and they contin-
ued on their way, walking all nighl, to be out of
reach of pursuit. On the next evening at dark
they reached the Allegheny just above Shannapin's
town. In crossing the river on an improvised craft,
Washington was thrown off into the icy current,
, where the water was ten feet deep, but saved himself
by catching at the logs of the raft. They were then
obliged to land on an island, and to pass the night
there, but in the morning found the river sufficiently
frozen to enable them to cross in safety on the ice to
the left bank of the river. They suflered severely
from cold and exposure, and Gist had his fingers
and toes frozen, but they succeeded in reaching Fra-
zier's, at the mouth of Turtle Creek, on the Monon-
galiela, in the evening of the 30th of December.
The journal proceeds : " As we intended to take
horses here [at Frazier's], and it required some time
to find them, I went up about three miles, to the
mouth of the Youghiogheny, to visit Queen AUi-
quippa, who had expressed great concern that we
passed her in going to the fort. I made her a
present of a watch-coat and a bottle of rum, which
I latter was thought much the better present of the
two. Tuesday, the 1st of January, we left Mr.
Frazier's house, and arrived at Mr. Gist's, at Monon-
I gahela," the 2d, where I bought a horse and saddle."
From Gist's Washington proceeded on his return
journey, and, without experiencing any notable inci-
j dent or adventure (except meeting a party bound for
the forks of the Ohio for the purpose of building a
fort there, as will hereafter be noticed), reached Wil-
liamsburg on the 16th of January, 1754, and deliv-
] ered the letter of the French commandant to Governor
Dinwiddie.
The preceding narrative of the journeying of Gov-
ernor Dinwiddle's young envoy to and from the
1 Gist, howevor, in liis diao', does not nientiun any party or Indians,
but only the one who flrcd (Hi tlicni. He snj'9, '• Wo rose early in the
morning and set oTit al'ont two o'clock, and yot to ttio Murderingtown,
on the sonlhojist fork of Braver Creek. Hero we met an Indian whom
I thonpht I liad seen .it Joncuiro's, at Venango, when on our journey up
to tlie From h f.irt. This fellow called me by my Inilliin name, and pre-
(ended to be glad to See me. I thought very ill of the fellow, but did
not care to let the Mtgor (Wnsliingtun) know 1 mistru ted him. But he
soon mistrusted him as much as I did . . . It was very light and snow
was on tlio ground. The Indian nuele a stop and turned aliunt. The
filiijor saw him jwint his gun at us, and he fired. Sitid the Msjor, ' Aro
you shot?' 'Xo.'said I, upon which the Indian ran forward to a big
standing white*oak, and beg:tn luailing his gun, but wo were soon with
him. I wonld have kitkd Mm, but the l>LiJor tcoiilil not mjfer me. We let
him charge bis gnn. We found he put in a ball, then wo took care of
hiin."
- "Monongahela"
point on the river al
to a large scojio of
portion of the prese
as a name at that time applied not only to the
le mouth of Bedstone Creek, but also, indefinitely,
uutry adjacent to it, comprising a considerable
county of Fayette, between the rivers Mononga.
ny. As Gist's w
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
French fort " Le Bceuf," is given in these pages at
considerable length, less on account of the import-
ance of the events and incidents related, than be-
cause it has reference to the first and second appear-
ance of George Washington in the territory of Fayette
County, which he afterwards frequently visited, and
became largely interested in as a property owner.
AVithin this territory is the spot which has become
historic as his first battle-ground, and here were first
disclosed his highest military abilities, in the wild
and disordered retreat of Braddock's army from the
field of disaster on the Mouongahela.
CHAPTEE V.
FREXCII OCCrPATIOX AT THE HEAD OF THE OHIO
— WASHINGTON'S CAMPAIGX OF irOi IX THE
YOUliHIOGHENY VALLEY. '.
The result of AVashington's expedition was to show
beyond all doubt that the design of the French was
to occupy, in force, all the country bordering the head-
waters of the Ohio Kiver. Thereupon, Governor
Dinwiddle transmitted Washington's statement to
England, and meanwhile, without waiting for instruc- •
tions from the home government, commenced prepar-
ations for raising a force to be sent to the " Forks of I
the Ohio" (Pittsburgh), to take possession of that point,
and to construct a defensive work to enable them to i
hdld the position against the French. A party had ]
already gone forward from Virginia across the moun-
tains for the same purpose, it being the one alluded
to in Washington's journal of the trip to Le Bceuf,
where he says, " The 6th (of January, on his return !
from Gist's to Wills' Creek) we met seventeen horses
loaded with materials and storas for a. fort at the fork !
of the Ohio, and the day after some families going
out to settle." ' But these were not troops sent by
I)inwiddie, or under provincial authority; they were
merely employes and colonists going out under the
auspices of the "Ohio Company," to locate and to
build a fort or block-house for the protection of them-
selves and the company's interests on the frontier. !
The first military force that moved westward hav-
ing the Ohio River for its objective point was a com-
pany under Captain AVilliam Trent, which marched-
from Virginia in January, 1754. From Wills' Creek
Captain Trent moved his force of about thirty-three
men^ over the same route which Washinston had i
traversed to the Great Crossings of the Youghiogheny
(at the present village of Somerfield), and thence to
Gist's settlement. From Gist's he marched to the
Monongahela, at the mouth of Redstone Creek, where
his men were for a time employed in erecting a store-
house (called the "Hangard") for the Ohio Company.
After completing it they continued their march to
the present site of the city of Pittsburgh, which place
they reached on the 17th of February, and there met
Christopher Gist and several others. They imme-
diately commenced work in the construction of the
fort, preparation for which had been begun by the
party which AVasbington met on his way to Wills'
Creek.
Not long after the commencement of the work.
Captain Trent returned by way of the Hangard and
Gist's to AVills' Creek, and Lieut. Frazier went to
his home on the Monongahela, at the mouth of Turtle
Creek, leaving the other commissioned officer, En-
sign AVard, in charge of the men engaged in the con-
struction of the fort.
The work progressed slowly (on account of the
severity of the weather) for about two months, when
suddenly, on the 17th of April, Ensign AVard found
himself confronted by a hostile force of about seven
hundred French and Indians, having with them eigh-
teen pieces of light artillery. This force, which had
come down the Allegheny River in sixty bateaux
and a great number of canoes, was under command
of Captain Contrecwur, who at once demanded a sur-
render of the work and position. The responsibility
lay wholly with AVard, as he was the only commis-
sioned officer with the force; but the Half-King, Tana-
charison, who was present, and firm as ever in his
loyalty to the English, advised the ensign to reply to
Contrecceur, that as he was not an officer of rank, and
had no authority to answer the demand, he hoped
that the French commander would wait until the ar-
rival of his superior officer, whom he would at once
send for. But Contrecceur refused to accede to this,
and demanded immediate surrender, saying that, in
case of non-compliance, he would immediately take
possession by force of arms.
It was of course impracticable for this ensign's com-
mand of about thirty-three men to hold the position
against a force of more than twenty times their num-
ber, with artillery ; and, therefore, the unfinished fort
was surrendered without further parley. The French
■ from George Crogliau to Governor Hamilton, dntcd March •2.'J,
In the letter firet referrcil to, Din« idilio snjs, "... In Jiinnarv
lissioncd Willium Trout to irtise one hnndred men; he liad got
'31r. Trent had
FRENCH OCCUPATION AT THE HEAD OF THE OHIO.
commander received Ensign AVard with great polite-
ness, invited him to 'sui)|)er that evening, and enter-
tained him for the night. On tiie morning of the 18th,
Ward took his departure, marched his men up the
valley of the Monongahela, and on the 19th arrived
at the mouth of Redstone Creek. From that point
he pushed on across the territory of the present county
of Fayette, by way of Gist's, and thence to the Great
Crossings of the Youghioglieny, and arrived at Wills'
Creek on the 22d of April. The fort which Ward
liad been compelled to surrender to Contrecanir was
completed by the French force with all practicable
dispatch, and named "Fort du Qucsne" in honor of
the Marquis du Quesne, the French Governor-Gen-
eral of Canada.'
While the events already related were in progress,
• Tlio following rr.Mii 111.) "CiilcM.liuof Vii;;liii:i
Miinuscripts li;:.i; t..l>l, II -■!.. 1 IN II. .,,
mngcd mid (dili'-l I' \' i I ^ 1 ,
Ltgblntnreof Vi.-ii _
Cll|ituillTreilfsop<.-l;ili..: - .11 I! - I..., I . 1 Hm (i:
llie pnrtiully coustructcU fuit hy Kusii^u \V;iid t
<ler, viz.:
•' Dciuisilion token Mnrcli in, 1777,
in I'ittjliiirgli, .U-. Agrcinl.le to Not
Agent for llie lii(liini;i fonipiiM.v, Ik-Iuh' .Ii.jiks Wood mid Cliiiilw Siuinis,
(wiutilig tlicni CnniiissioiicTs r..r Collicliiij} Kvidvlico on bclmlf of tlie
Coniinoiiwciiltli of Yiigiiiiii nguinst Uie sc-vcrnl I'ereons pretending to
cltiim Ljiuds witli in tlio Territoiy and Limits tlicreof, under Deeds of
Purclnises from IndinnR.
" .^Iiijor Kdwnrd Ward Deposetli nnd sjfitli Hint in the liegiuning of
the year 1704, Willinni Trent K>,.inire «;,- ;,,.|. .,..;.. I I , d.v. ii„„ir I)in-
wiildieuf Viiginiii,Cnplain oruCVilnl'iiiiv t . . '.^i .lliiriDopo-
went WHS mipointcd Ensign, by till- siiid 111 '. : IlicCliiefs
nnd Deputies of Hie Si.>i Niition?, iiuil i..i(.-i . i Hi. i ■ : ri.hiiiin to
ErK-t a Tniding House at tlle Junetioii of tlie Alliglu'iiy and ilononga-
liale Hivcrs. to carry on a Free and open Trade w illi the Six Nalions,
nnd tlieir dependants ^wliiuli was granted liy tiie said deputies, with tiiis
restiiclion, tinit he wa.^ to form no Settlements or iniprovcnieiits on the
Riid Land, but on the Contrary to Evacuate tiiesjime when required by
**.\(ter wliich the said Capt, Trent iulisted n number of men not ex-
ceeding tliiity-tiireu. and itruceeded to erect u Fort at the place Iietbro
mentioned. That on the ITth of April following, and before thi- Fort
was nearly completed, this De|ionent, who eonimauded in the absence
ufCupt. Trent, whs put lo the necessity of surreudciing the possession
to a Superior number of Tl-oops. t-onimanded by a French Odicer, who
demanded it in the name of the ICin^ of France; at which lime the Ualf-
King, and a number of the Six Nntions in Iho English Interests were
present. This deiioneiit furlher saith that in the year 17.)J, and before
his surrender lo the French, there was a snnill Village, Inhabited by the
Delawares. on the Soulli ICast Me of the Allegheny Kiver, in the neigh-
borhood of that place, and that old Kitlanuing, on the same side of the
raid River, was tlieii Inhabited by the Delawares; that about one-third
of the Shawanese Inhabited Loggs Town on the Wist Side of the Ohio,
Rud tended Corn on the East Side of the liivcr— and the utiur part of
the nation lived on the Scioto Eiver. That the Deputies of the Six Xn-
tions alter the surrender Joined the Virginia Forces, Commanded by
Colonel George Washington, who was then on Ins march at tlie Little
Sleadows, and continued with him in the service of Virginia till afier
the defeat of Monsieur La Force and a party of French Troops under his
Command. And the deponent further saith that subsequent to the de-
feat of Odo. Washington at the great Meadows, the Shawanose, Dela-
wares, and many of the Western Tribes of Indians, and an inconsider-
able number of Itenegades of the Seneca Tiibe.one of the Six Sations,
johied the French, and Prosecuted a War against the Frontiers of the
States of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, till the conclusion of
the Pence with the Indians in the yei'.r 1759, but that he ever nnder-
stooil tli.it the Body of the Six Nuti 'US continued the firm Friends of
troops, intended for the occupation of the " Forks of
the Ohio," were being raised and organized under the
authority of Governor Dinwiddle, in Virginia, and
the first detachment of these was sent forward under
command of Lieut.-Col. George Washington, who, on
the 31st of March, had received from the Governor a
commission {dated JIarch 15th) of that grade in the
Virginia regiment, of which Col. Joshua Fry was the
commanding officer, with others to take the troops
then quartered in Alexandria, and to march them to
the Ohio, "there to help Capt. Trent to build forts,
and to defend the possessions of his Majesty against
the attempts and hostilities of the French."
The detachment thus ordered forward under Wash-
ington, consisted of two companies of infantry, com-
manded respectively by Capt. Peter Hogg and Lieut.
Jacob Van Braam.^' Besides the commanding officer
and the tw^o company commandants, the force con-
sisted of " five subalterns, two sergeants, six corporals,
one drummer, and one hundred and twenty soldiers;
one surgeon,^ and one Swedish gentleman, who was a
volunteer."
On Tuesday, the 2d of April, at nnon, the force
marched out of Alexandria with two wagons, and
camped that night six miles from the town. From
that time nothing of note occurred in fifteen days'
marching, except that the detacliment was joined by
a small company under Capt. Stephen,* bringing the
total strength of the command up to about one hun-
dred and fifty men.
Washington kept no regular journal on tl.o expe-
dition, but he made hasty notes of many occurrences ;
which notes were captured by the French at the bat-
tle of the Monongahela in 175.5, and were by them
preserved and published, though Washington said
afterwards that they had distorted parts of them.
One memorandum, dated April 19th, is to this effect:
" Met an express who had letters from Capt. Trent, at
the Ohio,'' demanding a reinforcement with all speed,
as he hourly expected a body of eight hundred French.
I tarried at Job Pearsall's for the arrival of the troops,
where they came the next day. When I received the
above expre-ss, I dispatched a courier to Col. Fry, to
give him notice of it.
"Thc20ih.— CamcdowntoCol.Crcsap's[()ldTown,
Md.] to order the detachment, and on my route had
notice that the fort was taken by the French. That
hews w.as confirmed by :Mi-. Ward, the ensign of Capt.
Trent, who had been obliged to surrender to a body
- The same person who, in the preceding autumn, had accompanied
Washington to Fort Le Btcnf as French interpreter.
3 Dr. Jamea Craik, aflerwards the f.imily iihysicinn of Washington,
nnd his intimate and life-long friend.
* .\flerwards Gen. Stephen, of the Kevolutionar}' army, under Wash-
iugton.
5 Capt. Trent appears to have attempted to conceal the fact that lie had
absented lii'niself from his command at the Forks of the Ohio, leaving
Ensign Ward in charge, an offense for which he was severely censured
:tialcd foi
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
of one thousand French and upwards,' under com-
niaud of Capt. Contrecceur, who was come down from
Venango with sixty bateaux and three hundred canoes,
and who, having planted eighteen pieces of cannon
against the fort, afterwards had sent him a summons
to depart."
Ensign Ward, as before mentioned, arrived at Wills'
Creek on the 22d. Washington, on receiving Ward's
account of the surrender of the fort to the French,
convened a council of war at Wills' Creek to deter-
mine on the proper course to be pursued in this exi-
gency. The council was held on the 23d, and decided
"that it would be proper to advance as far as Bed-
stone Creek, on Monongahela, about thirty-seven
miles on this side of the fort, and there to raise a for-
tification, clearing a road broad enough to pass with
all our artillery and baggage, and there to wait for
fresh orders." The reasons for this decision were,
" First, That the mouth of Kedstone is the first con-
venient place on the river Monongahela. Second, That
stores are already built at that place for the provisions
of the company, wherein our ammunition may be
laid up; our great guns may be also sent by water
whenever we should think it convenient to attack the
fort. Third, We may ea.sily (having all these con-
veniences) preserve our people from the ill conse-
quences of inaction, and encourage the Indians, our
allies, to remain in our interests." When the council
had arrived at this decision, Ensign Ward was sent
forward to acquaint Governor Dinwiddle with the
facts as well as to make his own report, taking with
him an interpreter, and one of the young Indians,
while another Indian runner was sent to the Half-
King, at the Ohio, to notify him of the projected ad-
vance of the Virginians.^ " I thought it proper also,"
said Washington, " to acquaint the Governors of Mary-
land and Pennsylvania of the news."
After a few brief preparations Washington's forces
moved out on the path leading to the Great Crossings
of the Youghiogheny, cutting out the road as they
proceeded ; so that it was not until the 9th of May
that they reached the Little Crossings (Castleman's
Elver). While they were at this place (May 11th)
Washington sent out a reconnoitring party of twenty-
five men under command of Capt. Stephen and En-
sign Peyronie, with orders to scout along the line of
advance, as far as Gist's place, "to inquire where La
Force^ and his party were,— and in case they were itf
1 Ward overestimated the numbers of Contrec(cnr"8 force, as it -nas
very natural that he sliould do, under tlie circumstances.
••; Thellalf-King had sent by some of his Indians to Washington, at
Wills' Creels, an address or Biicecli with belts of wampnm. To tliat
speech Washington now sent back by the runner a written reply, .as-
suring him of the friendship and gratitude of the English, and that Uiey
were moving towards the Ohio iu force, and clearing a road for a much
larger army, with great guns. Ho also requested the Half-King to come
up and meet him on the way, to assist him by his wise counsel. To this
request Tanacharison responded by meeting Washington between the
Yonghiogbeny and Gist's, as will be seen.
3 La Force was a Frenchman, who had been sent out from Tort du
Qucsnc about the first of May with a small party of French aad Indians-
the neighborhood, to cease pursuing, and take care of
themselves;" and, also, "to examine closely all the
woods round about," and if any straggling Frenchman
should be found away from the others, to capture, and
bring him in to be examined for information. " We
were exceedingly desirous," said Washington, " to
know if there was any possibility of sending down
anything by water, as also to find out some convenient
place about the mouth of Red Stone Creek, where we
could build a fort."
AVashington's forces remained three days at the
Little Crossings. Some accounts have it that they
made the long halt at this place for the purpose of
building a bridge over the river, but this is rendered
improbable by the following entry, having reference to
the day on which they moved ou from their three days'
encampment, viz. : "May the 12th. — Marched away,
and went on a rising ground, where we halted to dry
ourselves, for we had been obliged to ford a deep river,
where our shortest men had water up to their arm-pits."
On the same day Washington received, by courier,
letters informing him that Col. Fry was at Winchester
with upwards of one hundred men, and would start ia
a few days to join the advance detachment ; also that
Colonel Innis was-on the way with three hundred and
fifty Carolinians. On the 16th the column met two
traders, who said they were fleeing for fear of the
French, — parties of whom had been seen near Gist's.
These traders told Washington that they believed it
to be impossible to clear a road over which wagons or
artillery-pieces could be taken to the mouth of Red-
stone Creek. On the 17th, Ensign Ward rejoined
Wasliington, having come from Williamsburg, with
a letter from the Governor, notifying him that Captain
Mackay, with an independent company of one hun-
dred men, exclusive of officers, was on the way, and
that he might expect them at any day. Two Indians
came in from "the Ohio" the same evening, and
reported that the French at Fort du Quesne were ex-
pecting reinforcements sufiicient to make their total
force sixteen hundred men.
On the 18th the column reached the Great Crossings
of the Youghiogheny (Somerfield), where the com-
panies encamped, and remained several days. The
j halt at this place was necessary to wait for lower water
in the river, which had been swollen by recent rains ;
but besides this, the young commander wished to ex-
amine the stream below, hoping to find that it was
navigable for bateaux, or canoes of sufiicient size to
carry cannon and stores. It is not improbable that
the opinions so confidently expressed by the two fugi-
' tive traders, who came in on the 16th, and others, as
to the impossibility of opening a practicable road for
guns and heavy material to the mouth of Redstone
Creek, had impressed him so strongly as to cause him
ostensibly for the purpose of capturing deserters; but Washington, who
I had received information from an Indian runner sent by the Half-Kieig,
I believed they had other purposes in view, and therefore ordered tbo
WASHINGTON'S CAMPAIGN OF 1754 IN THE YOUGHIOGHENY VALLEY.
to etitcrtaiu the idea of making iiis military base on
tlie Youghiogheny instead of oa the Monongahela as
first intended.
Whatever may have been his reasons, it is certain
that Washington decided on, and made, the explora-
tion, commencing the voyage on tlie 20th, in a canoe,
"with Lieut. West, three soldiers, and one Indian."
Following "the river along about half a mile," they
were obliged to go ashore, where they met Peter Suver,
a trader, who spoke discouragingly of their chances
of finding a passage by water, " which," says Wash-
ington, " caused me to alter my mind of causing
canoes to be made; I ordered my people to wade, ns
tlie waters were shallow enough, and continued myself
going down the river in the canoe. . . . We gained
Turkey Foot by the beginning of the night."
On the morning of the 21st they remained some
time at Turkey Foot, " to examine the place, which
we found very convenient to build a fort.' From
there they passed down the river, finding nearly every
variety of channel, sometimes rocky and rapid, and
then still and deep, until at last, at a computed dis-
tance of about ten miles below Turkey Foot, " it
became so rapid as to oblige us to come ashore."
Thus ended Washington's exploration of the Yough-
iogheny, and then the pju-ty returned to the camp at
the Great Crossings.
Upon the return of Col. Washington from his ex-
ploring trip the troops were put in motion, and crossing
the Youghiogheny without bridging (the high water
having then in a great measure subsided), marched
on northwestwardly towards the Great Meadows,
at which place they arrived on the 24tli, at two o'clock
in the afternoon. In the morning of that day, when
the column was a few miles southeast of the Meadows,
two Indian runners came in from the Ohio with a
message from the Half-King saying that " the French
army" wiis already on the march from Fort du Quesne
to meet the advancing force of Wasliington, and also
notifying him that Tanacharison and the other chiefs
would soon be with him to hold council, as Wash-
ington had requested in the dispatch sent to him from
Wills' Creek.
On the same afternoon that the troops arrived at the
Great Meadows, a trader came in saying that he had
come from Gist's, where the evening before he had
seen two Frenchmen ; he also knew that a strong
French force was in the vicinity of Stewart's Cross-
ings on the Youghiogheny. This report confirmed
the news received from the Half-King, and thereupon
Washington decided to remain for a time at the
Meadows, and avail himself of the advantage otfered
by the position. There were here, as he said in his
notes, " two natural intrencbments," which he caused
to be strengthened to some extent artificially, and
rhis soems to show thnl he then 1
niigitml plan of opemtions bj" m:il
:iul of tlic Muuongnhelii.
I contemplation a change in
M< Imse on tlie Y. ngliioghcMy
within these slight defenses he placed a part of the
troops with the wagons. The troops worked two or
three days in strengthening the position, and on the
27th of May Washington wrote : " We have, with
nature's u.ssistance, made a good entrenchiuent, and by
clearing the bushes out of the meadows, prepared a
charming field for an encounter." Probably he never
afterwards used so unmilitary an adjective in describ-
ing the construction and surroundings. of a fortifica-
tion.
On the 25th several small detachments were sent
out from the camp with orders to reconnoitre the
road- and the Indian trails, to examine the woods and
every part of the country thoroughly, "and endeavor
to get some news of the French, of their forces, and
of their motions." But these parties returned in the
evening of the same day without having made any
discoveries. On the 26th a messenger (Mr. William
Jenkins) arrived, bringing dispatches — though of no
great importance — from Col. Fairfax, who, with Gov-
ernor Dinwiddle, was then at Winchester.
Early on the morning of the 27th, Christopher Gist
arrived from his plantation, and re|)0rted that at about
noon on the preceding day a French detachment of
about filly men had visited his house and committed
considerable depredation there. He also said he had
seen their tracks within five miles of the Virgin-
ians' camp. On receipt of this information, Wash-
ington sent out a detachment of seventy-five men
under Capt. Hogg, Lieut. Mercer, and Ensign Pey-
ronie, in search of the French force. Information
had already been received that a party of Indians,
under the friendly Half-King, had come up the Mo-
nongahela, and was probably uot very far from the
Great Meadows. On the evening of the 27th, an In-
dian messenger from Tanacharison came to Wash-
ington with the information that the Half-King —
whose camp, he said, was only six miles away — had
seen the tracks of two Frenchmen, which he followed
stealthily, and had thereby discovered the French
party encamped in a rocky ravine, secluded, and diffi-
cult of access, and situated about half a mile from the
trail.'
On receiving this intelligence, Washington was
- Tliat i-i, tlie path whicli had been slightly cleared by Capt. Trent,
and the Ohio Company's party which had preceded him In the previous
winter.
3 " On tlie27lh of JIny the Ilalf-Kirg sent Col. Washington Xolice that
a Taity from the French .\niiy was hankering about his Camp, if ho
would march some of his I'eople to join them, he did not doubt of cultiuK
them off. Col. Washington inarched that Night and came up to the In-
dians; one of the Indian Runnei« tracked the French Men's Feet and
came up to their Lodgment ; they discovered our People about one hun-
dred yards distant, flew to their Arms, and a small Engagement ensued.
We lost one Man and another wounded; the French had Twelve killed
and Twenty-one taken Prisonei-s, who are now in our Prison; the In-
dians scalped many of the dead French, took up the Hatchet against
them, sent their Scalps and a String of black Wampum to scveial other
Tribes of Indians, Willi a desire that they should also take up tlio
ITntchet agiiinst the French, which I hope tliey have done."— Iri/er of
Goc. litiiritlilie In Cor. jramiltou, of A'nK»ifrn»i:i, lUtcil Jiuie 21, IjdJ.
<;«, ^
30
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
suspicious thiit the secret movements of the French
Avere part of a stratagem to draw some of his forces
away from the camp and then attack it. He there-
fore ordered the ammunition to be placed in a safe
position, under a guard strong enough to prevent it
from capture in case of attack, and then set out im-
mediately, with the rest of his men,' for the camp of
tlie Half-King. The night was rainy and very dark;
the path over which they traveled was narrow, rough,
and hard to distinguish ; but they persevered, and in
the morning at a little before sunrise reached the Half- !
King's camp,^ where, at a council, held with the old
sachem, it was determined to proceed at once to attack i
the French camp.
The party whose movements had been reported by I
Gist and others was the " P'rench army," of whose
departure from Fort Du Quesnc Washington had |
been apprised. In some historical accounts of the 1
campaign it has been stated that it was under com-
mand of M. La Force, but this was not the case ; it
was commanded by M. de Jumonville,^ a French en- j
sign, who was accompanied by La Force, but the lat- !
ter was simply a volunteer, and held no military
command in the expedition. Afterwards the French
autliorities and writers claimed that Jumonville him-
self was not engaged in a military enterprise, but that
he was merely an envoy or bearer of dispatches I
1 Mostaccounts have it that the force which Washington took with liim
o;i th.1t niglit coosisted of only forty men ; biit the language of liis notes
— tliougli not entirely clear — indicatis that the ntiuiber left to guard the
ammunition was about forty,and that tlie reinaiuder of his force acci>m-
sjlr. Vc' Ii il,,-- t!i< .;ir rib" Uiir-Kih-'s camp on that night,
"near 11 'r''"y. about fifty rods
iii)rllr,> i' I lit nf the present towu-
^ y.ill. _ ■ I i: -.iiImii uf tlie orders given by M. de Contrecoeur
"B'--ii I III. i, i[. tain of a company belonging to the dctach-
nicht .4 I. ii , iiiiiiiii.l(.r-in-cliief at the Ohio Fort du Quesne,
Presqn' Isk- and KiviCro aux Bceufs, liath given orders to M. de Jumon-'
ville, an ensign of the troops, to depart immediately, with one officer,
llireo cadets, one volunteer [La Force], one Englisli interpreter, and
twenty-eight men, to go up as far as the nigh Lands, and to make what
discovery he can ; lie shall keep along the river Monongahelu in Peiia-
guas, as far as the Ilangard, after which he shall nuirch along until lie
tinds the road which leads to that said to liave been cleared by the Eng-
lish. As tlie Indians give out that the English are on their march to
attack 110 (which we cannot believe, since we are at peace), should M.
do Jumonville, contrary to our expectations, hear of auy attempt in-
tended to be iiiiulc by tbe ICii^'li^li on tilt- lands bi'loiiging to the French
senger i ' i ■ i ■ . . ■, 1 all the dis-
nions, and al^n lu bring us an answer from llietii, witli all possible dili-
gence, after it is read.
" If BI. de Jumonville should hear that tlio English intend to go on
the other side of Ihe Great Mountain [the Alleghenies] lie shall not pass
the High Lands, ^or we would not disturb tliem in the least, being de-
sirous to keep lip that union which exists between the two crowns.
Indiai
iug oi
ville I
I upm
nrd II
charged by the commandant at Fort du Quesne with
the duty of delivering a communication to the com-
manding officer of the English force; and that the
military party which accompanied him was acting
simply as his guard while performing this service.
But if it was simply a guard to a peaceful envoy, then
certainly its leader adopted a very strange cour e in
lurking near Washington's encampment for two days,
and hiding his men in an obscure and gloomy glen
among rocks and brushwood.
It having been determined to attack Jumonville's
party, Washington's men and Tanacharison's Indians
left the headquarters of the latter, and marched " In-
dian-file" to near the French camp,* where a line was
formed, with the English on the right and the Indians
on the left, and in tliis order the combined forces
moved to the attack. It was not a complete surprise,
for the French discovered their assailants before they
were within rifle-range. The right, under Washing-
ton, opened fire, and received that of the French.
The conflict lasted only about a quarter of an hour,
when the French .«urrendered. Their loss was ten
killed and one wounded. Among the killed was JI.
de Jumonville." All the dead men were scalped by
Tanacharison's Iiidians. Washington's loss was one
man killed and two wounded.
The prisoners, twenty-one in number (among whom
were La Force, M. Drouillard, and two cadets), were
marched to the Half-King's camp, and thence to the
Great Meadows. Two days later, they were sent to
Winchester, Va., with a guard of twenty men, under
command of Lieutenant West, who was also accom-
panied by Mr. Spindorph.
On the 30th, Washington "began to raise a fort
with small palisadoes, fearing that when the French
should hear the news of that defeat we might be at-
tacked by considerable forces." The defenses which
his men had constructed at the Great Meadows' camp
prior to this, probably consisted of parapets, formed
of logs (laid horizontally) and earth, along the crests
of the " two natural intrenchments," which have al-
ready been mentioned, and tlie discovery of which
at the Great Meadows, together with the advantage
of a small stream that flowed near them, seems to
have been a principal reason for his selecting that
* "Jumonville's Camp," says Mr. Yecch, "is a place well known in our
mouutains. It is near half a mile southward of Dunbar's Camp, and
about five hundred yards eastward of Bi-nddock's road,— the same which
Washington was then making. . . . There is not above ground in Fay-
ette County a place so well calculated for concealment, and for secretly
watching and counting Washington's little army as it would pass along
the road, as this same Jumonville's Camp." The spot is now well
kuowu by residents in that part of the county, and is frequently visited
by strangei-s fi-om motives of curiosity.
5 The killing of Jumonville was stigmatized by the French as tho
assassination uf a peaceful envoy, and their writers have covered thou-
~:iih1- .1 ]i,i-. > \\itli accusations against Washington as commander of
111- iiM Kii,^ i.i..<. Even a greater amount of writing h,i8 been dono
ly A iiji lilMcrianstorefutethosofalseallegations. But the charac-
I. r .1 w \ ins ,1. X needs no vindication, and certainly none will be
WASIIINGTONS CAMrAIGX OF 1734 IX THE YOUGIIIOGHENY VALLEY.
31
place as a site for liis iDrtitioil <:iiii|) and ti'iiiiKiraiv
base of operations.
The little stockade, whicli War>liin<;toii built alU-r
the figlit at Jumonville's camp, was evidently a very
slight and |)rimitive affair, for on the 2d of June if. was
completed, and religious services were held in it. In
the previous evening the Half-King had arrived, bring-
ing with him some twenty-five or thirty families of In-
dians, who had tied from the lower Jlonongnhela and
the neighborhood of Logstown forfcarofthe vengeance
of the French. The fugitive party numbered between
eighty and one hundred persons, including women
and children. Among them was "Queen" Alliquippa
and her son. Her heart had evidently been touched
in its tenderest chord by AVashington's present of a
bottle of rum to her in the preceding December, and
now she came to place herself under his protection,
she doubtless had visions of future favors from him.
But the presence of these refugees was very embar-
rassing to the young commander on account of pros-
pective scarcity of provisions, and for many otiicr
reasons; and the inconvenience was afterwards in-
creased by the arrival of other parties of non-com-
batant Indians. One of these was a party of Shaw-
anese, who came to the fort on the 2d of June, and
others came in on the 5th and 6th. Washington
wislied to be disencumbered of these hangers-on, and
tried to have a rendezvous of friendly Indians estab-
lished at the mouth of the Redstone Creek, but did
not succeed in effecting his purpose.
On the 6th of June, Christopher Gist arrived from
Wills' Creek, with information that Col. Fry, com-
manding officer of the Virginia regiment, had died at
that place on the 30th of May while on his way to the
Great Meadows with troojis. By his death Washing-
ton succeeded to the command of the regiment. On
the 9th, Major Muse arrived from Wills' Creek with
the remainder of the regiment, and nine small swivel-
guns, with ammunition for them. But although the
la.st of the regiment had now arrived, the total force
under Washington was but little more than three
hundred men, in six companies, commanded respec-
tively by Captains Stephen, Jacob Van Braam, Robert
Stobo, Peter Hogg, Andrew Lewis,' Poison, and
George Mercer. Among the subalterns were Lieuten-
ants John Mercer and Waggoner, and Ensigns Pey-
ronie and Tower. Major Muse, as a man of some
military experience, was detailed as quarterma.ster,
and Captain Stephen was made acting major.
Major Muse, on his arrival, reported that Captain
Mackay, of the South Carolina Royal Independent
Company, had arrived with his command at Wills'
Creek, and was not far behind him on the march to
Great Meadows. He (Mackay) arrived on the follow-
1 Afterwards Generni Lewifi, wlio fuuglit the buttle of Point Pleasant
in Bunmore's war of 1774. He was a relatire of Washington, and it is
said that in 1775 Ilie Litter recommended Iiim for ttic appointment wliirli
lie himself soon after received, that of connnander-iu-chief of the .\incri-
ingday (June 10th), having with him a force of about
one hundred men, five days' rations of flour, sixty
cattle on the hoof, and a considerable supply of am-
munition. As Capt. Mackay was a regular officer in
the royal service, he displayed from the first a disin-
clination to act under the orders of a "buckskin
colonel" of Virginia provincial troops. This feeling
extended to the private soldiers of the Carolina com-
l>any, but no act of pronounced insubordination
resulted from it.
Two days after the arrival of Capt. Mackay, some
of Washington's scouts brought in word that they had
discovered a French party, numbering, by estimate,
about ninety men, between Gist's and Stewart's Cros-
sings of the Youghiogheny. This intelligence caused
the colonel to start out with about one hundred and
thirty men and thirty Indians to find them ; but
before leaving the meadows, he took the same pre-
caution that he observed when he went out to attack
the party under Jumonville,— that is, he directed all
his ammunition and stores to be placed in the safest
possible position within the palisade, and set a strong
guard over it, with orders to keep the strictest watch
until his return ; for he still feared that the reported
movement by the French was part of a stratagem by
which they hoped to capture the work in the absence
of a large part of its defenders. On moving out with
his party, however, he soon met an Indian party, who
informed him that the alarm was unfounded, for, that
instead of the reported party of ninety, there were but
nine Frenchmen, and these were deserters. There-
upon he returned to the camp, leaving a small party
to take the deserters and bring them in, which they
accomplished soon afterwards.
Finding that there was as yet no French force in
his vicinity, Washington now resolved to advance
towards Redstone, and accordingly, on the 16th, moved
out on the Nemacolin path towards Gist's, taking with
him his artillery pieces, some of the wagons, and all
his men, except the Carolinians, under Mackay, who
were left behind at the fort to guard the stores. This
was done to avoid a possible conflict of authority
with Mackay, who was indisposed to have his com-
pany perform its .share of labor in clearing the way
for the passage of the train.
This labor was found to be so great that the force
under Washington was employed thirteen days in
making the road pa.ssable from the fort to Gist's,
though the distance was only thirteen miles. Before
reaching Gist's (on the 27th) Capt. Lewis was sent
ahead with Lieut. Waggoner, Ensign Mercer, and a
detachment of seventy men, to attempt the opening
of a practicable road beyond Gist's, towards Redstone.
Another detachment, under Capt. Poison, was sent
out in advance to reconnoitre.
On the 29th of June Washington arrived at Gist's,
and there received information that a strong French
force was advancing up the Monongahela. Tlioreupon,
he at once called a council of war, at which it was re-
32
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
solved to concentrate all the forces at that point, and
there await the French attack. Intrenchments were
immediately commenced and pushed with all possible
vigor ; a messenger was .sent towards Bedstone, to
call in Lewis's and Poison's detachments, and an-
other to the Great Meadows, with a request to Capt.
Mackay to march his force without deiay to Gist's.
He promptly responded ; and Lewis and Poison also
came in the next morning, having cut through nearly
eight miles of road from Gist's towards Redstone. On
their arrival Washington called a second council of
war, which reversed the decision of the first, and re-
solved, without a dissenting voice, to abandon the
work at Gist's and retreat to Wills' Creek, over the
route by which they had advanced. This decision
was at once acted on.
In the retreat, the means of transportation being very
deficient,' it is said that "Colonel -Washington set a
noble example to the officers by leading his own horse
with ammunition and other public stores, leaving his
baggage behind, and giving the soldiers four pistoles
to carry it forward. The other officers followed this
example. There were nine swivels, which were drawn
by the soldiers of the Virginia regiment, over a very
broken road, unassisted by the men belonging to the
Independent Company [Mackay's], who refused to
perform any service of the kind. Neither would they
act as pioneers, nor aid in transporting the public
stores, considering this a duty not incumbent on them
as King's soldiers. This conduct had a discouraging
effect upon the soldiers of the Virginia regiment, by
dampening their ardor and making them more dis-
satisfied with their extreme fatigue."^
The journey between Gist's and the Great Meadows,
which Washington, on his outward marcli, had been
unable to perforni in less than thirteen d.ays, was now
made in less than two days, notwithstanding the insuf-
ficiency of transportation and the severe labor which
the men were obliged to perform in hauling the artil-
lery pieces and military stores; and the retreating col-
umn reached the fortified camp at Great Meadows on
the l^t of July.
It had been the intention, as before noticed, to con-
tinue the retreat to Wills' Creek, but on the arrival
at the Meadows, Washington found that it was im-
practicable to go on, for, says Sparks, " His men had
become so much fiitigued from great labor and a de-
ficiency of provisions, that they could draw the swivels
no farther, nor carry the baggage on their backs.
They had been eight days without bread, and at the
Great Meadows they found only a few bags of flour.
It was thought advisable to wait here, therefore, and
fortify themselves in the best manner they could till
1 Sill-gent says, "Two miserable teams, and a few pack liorses being
I tlicir means of tmnsporting their ammunition, tlie officers at once
l.le'l their own steeds to the train; and, leaving half his baggage be-
ind, Washington, for four pistoles, hired some of the sokliers to carry
they should receive supplies and reinforcements.
They had heard of the arrival, at Alexandria, of two
independent companies from New York, twenty days
before, and it was presumed they must, by this time,
have reached Wills' Creek. An express was sent to
hasten them on with as much dispatch as possible."
When it had been decided to make a stand at the
fortified camp at Great Meadows, Washington gave
orders for the men to commence, without delay, to
strengthen the rude defenses which had already been
erected. More palisades were added ; the stockade
was extended, and salient angles formed, and a broad
but shallow ditch was made outside the fort, materi-
ally adding to the strength of the work. Outside this
ditch there was constructed a line of defense, similar
in character to the modern rifle-pits, — but all joined
in one extended trench, — further protected in front
by a low parapet of logs, embanked with the earth
thrown from the trench. The work was done under the
supervision of Capt. Robert Stobo, who had had some
I experience in military engineering. When completed,
I Washington named it " Fort Necessity," as expressive
of the necessity he was under to stand there and fight,
' because of his inability to continue the retreat to
j Wills' Creek, as he had intended. The extreme scar-
city of provisions, and other supplies too, made the
name appropriate.
Washington's selection of a site for his fortification
has been often and severely criticised by military
' men as being badly calculated for defense, and com-
manded on three sides by high ground and closely
approaching woods. The location was undoubtedly
chosen partly on account of the peculiar conforma-
tion of the ground, which V/ashington called " natural
intrenchments," and which materially lightened the
labor of construction, and still more on account of
the small stream (a tributary of Great Meadows Run)
which flowed by the spot, and across which, at one
point, the palisade was extended, so as to bring it
within the work, and furnish the defenders with an
abundant supply of water, a consideration of vital
importance if the fort was to be besieged.
The size and shape of Fort Necessity have often
been described by writers, but the difl^erent accounts
vary in a remarkable manner. Col. Burd, who vis-
ited the ruin of the work in 1759, five years after its
erection, says, under date of September 10th, in tliat
year, " Saw Col. Washington's fort, which was called
Fort Necessity. It is a small, circular, stockade, with
a small house in the centre. On the outside there is
a small ditch goes round it, about eight yards from
the stockade. It is situated in a narrow part of the
meadows, commanded by three points of woods.
There is a small run of water just by it. We saw two
iron swivels."
Sparks, in describing the fort and its location, says,
" The space of ground called the Great Meadows is a
level bottom, through which passes a small creek,
and is surrounded bv hills of moderate and gi-adual
WASHINGTON'S CAMPAIGN OF 1754 IN THE YOUGHIOGHKNY VALLEY.
33
descent. This bottom, or gliide, is entirely level,
covered with long grass and small bushes [Wash-
ington mentioned the clearing away of the bushes
which covered the ground wlicn the work was com-
menced], and varies in width. At the point where
the fort stood it is about two hundred and fifty yards j
wide from the base of one hill to that of the oi)posite. j
Tlie position of the fort was well chosen, being about [
one hundred yards from the upland or wooded ground
on the one side, and one hundred and fifty on the
other, and so situated on the margin of the creek as
to aflbrd easy access to the water. At one point the
high ground comes within sixty yards of the fort, and
this was the nearest distance to which an enemy
could approach under shelter of trees. The outlines
of the fort were still visible when the spot was visited
by the writer in 1830, occupying an irregular square,
the dimensions of which were about one hundred
feet on each side. One of the angles was prolonged
farther than the others, for the purpose of reaching
the water in the creek. On the west side, next to the
nearest wood, were three entrances, protected by stout
breastworks or bastions. The remains of a ditch,
stretching round the south and west sides, were also
distinctly seen. The site of this fort, named Fort
Necessity from the circumstances attending its erec-
tion and original use, is three or four hundred yards
south of wliat is called the National road, four miles
irom the foot of Laurel Hill, and fifty miles from
Cumberland, at Wills' Creek." If Sparks had been
in the least aci)uainted with military matters, be
probably would not have spoken of a fortified posi-
tion as being "well chosen" when it was commanded
on three sides by higher ground, in no place more
than one hundred and fifty yards distant, with the
opportunity for an enemy to approach on one side
within sixty yards under cover of woods.
The best, and it is believed the only reli.ible de-
scription of the form and dimension of the fort, is
found in Vcech's " Jlonongahelaof Old," as follows:
"The engraving and description of Fort Necessity
given in Sparks' Washington are inaccurate. It
may have presented that diamond shape in 1830, but
in 1816 the senior author' of these sketches made a
regular survey of it with compass and chain. It was
in the form of an obtuse-angled triangle of one hun-
dred and five degrees, having its base or hypothenuse
upon the run. The line of the base was about midway
sected or broken, and about two perches of it thrown
across the run, connecting with the base by lines of
about the same lengih, nearly perpendicular to the
opposite lines of the triangle. One line of the angle
was six, the other seven perches; the base line eleven
perches long, including the section thrown across the
run. The lines embraced in all about fifty square
perches of land, or nearly one-third of an acre. The
embankments then (1816) were nearly three feet
1 FreoQiau Lewis.
above the level of the meadow. The outside "trenches"
were filled up. But inside the lines were ditches or
excavations about two feet deep, formed by throwing
the earth up against the palisades. There were no
traces of ' bastions' at the angles or entrances. The
junctions of the meadow or glade with the wooded
upland were distant from the fort on the southeast
about eighty yards, on the north about two hundred
yards, and on the south about two hundred and fifty
yards. Northwestward, in the direction of the Turn-
pike road, the slope was a very regular and gradual
rise to the high ground, which is about four hundred
yards distant."
Leaving Washington and his little army in occu-
pation of their frail defenses at the Great Meadows,
let us take a brief glance at the enemy which was
approaching them from Fort du Quesne by way of
the Monongahela Valley.
The French force, which was marching in pursuit
of Washington, was commanded by M. Coulon de
Villiers, from whose journal of the campaign a few
extracts are here given : "June the 26th. — Arrived at
Fort du Que.sne about eight in the morning, with the
several [Indian] nations, the command of which the
General had given me. At my arrival, was informed
that M. de Contrecreur had made a detachment of
five hundred French, and eleven Indians of different
nations on the Ohio, the command of which he had
given to Chevalier le Mercier, who was to depart the
next day. As I was the oldest officer, and com-
manded the Indian nations, and as my brother- had
been assassinated, M. de Contrecccur honored me
with that command, and M. le Mercier, though de-
prived of the command, seemed very well pleased to
make the campaign under my orders
" The 28th.— M. de Contrecccur gave me my orders,
the provisions were distributed, and we left the fort
at about ten o'clock in the morning. I began from that
instant to send out some Indians to range about by
land to prevent being surprised. I posted myself at
a short distance above the finst fork of the river Mo-
nongahela, though I had no thought of taking that
route. I called the Indians together and demanded
their opinion. It was decided that it was suitable to
take the river Monongahela, though the route was
longer.
" The 29th. — Mass was said in the cami>, after which
we marched with the usual precaution.
" 30th.— Came to the Hangard, which was a sort of
fort built with logs, one upon another, well notched
in, about thirty feet in length and twenty in breadth ;
and as it was late, and would not do anything without
consulting the Indians, I encamped about two mus-
ket-shots from that place. At night I called the sa-
chems together, and we consulted upon what was best
to be done for the safety of our periaguas (large ca-
- Meaning U. do JumoDvlIlc,
I Villiers' bair-brolli.;r.
34
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
noes), and of the provisions we left in reserve, as also
what guard should be left to keep it.
" July the 1st. — Put our periaguas in a safe place.
Our effects, and everything we could do without, we
took into the Hangard, where I left one good sergeant,
with twenty men and some sick Indians. Ammunition
was afterwards distributed, and we began our march."
The force of De Villiers consisted of five hundred
Frenchmen, and about four hundred Indians.' March-
ing from the Hangard iu the morning of the 1st of
July (at which time Washington's force was approach-
ing the Great Meadows on its retreat from Gist's plan-
tation) the French and Indian column moved up the
valley of Redstone Creek (over nearly the same route
which was afterwards traversed by Col. Burd's road)
towards Gist's, where De Villiers expected to find
Washington, his Indian scouts having reported the
English force to be at that place.
"At about eleven o'clock," continues the journal,
" we discovered some tracks, which made us suspect
we were discovered. At three in the afternoon, hav-
ing no news of our rangers, I sent others, who met
those sent before, and not knowing each other, were
near upon exchanging shots, but happily found their
mistake; they returned to us and declared to have
been at the road which the English were clearing ;-
that they were of opinion no body had been that way
for three days. We were no longer in doubt of our
proceedings being known to the English."
At daybreak in the morning of the 2d the French
force left its bivouac of the previous night and
marched towards Gist's. "After having marched
some time we stopped, for I was resolved to proceed
no farther until I had positive news; wherefore I sent
scouts upon the road. In the meanwhile came some
of the Indians to me whom we had left at the Han-
gard; they had taken a prisoner, who called himself
a deserter. I examined him, and threatened him
with the rope if he otTered to impose on me. I learned
that the English had left their post [at Gist's] in
order to rejoin their fort, and that they had taken
back their cannon. Some of our people, finding that
the English liad abandoned the camp, we went
thereto, and I sent some men to search it through-
out. They found several tools and other utensils
hidden in many places, which I ordered them to
carry away. As it was late, I ordered the detach-
ment to encamp there.' . . . We had rain all night."
1 Tho force of " five Immlretl French imd ekfen Iiuliiins," wliicli De
"VilHcrs mentions in his joumnl as hiiving been detaolieil under com-
mand of Mercier for tliis .-xpr'.iiiioii, Iiail been an{;niented by the large
Indian force wliicli I)e YilljciB brought « ith him down the Allegheny to
Fort du Quesne.
- It will be recollected that Capt. Lewis, with about seventy men, bad
) attempt tlie opening of a road
that thoy were recalled on the 29tli. It is
•Niits had come upon some part of the work
hwest of Gist's, but not the track between
been sent forward on the 27th
When day broke on the morning of the 3d of July
the weather was still wet and gloomy, but De Villiers
moved forward at once with the main body, scouting
parties having been sent in advance the previous
evening. The rain continued, and increased during
the long hours of the march towards Fort Necessity,
but the French column pressed on with energj', and
with all possible speed, for, said De Villiers, "I fore-
saw the necessity of preventing the enemy in their
works." It also appears that he took the pains to
ride away from the road into the woods, to make a
flying visit to the rocky defile where Juuwnviile had
lost his life five weeks before. "I stopped," he says,
"at the place where my brother had been assassin-
ated, and saw there yet some dead bodies," and then
proceeds : " When I came within three-quarters of a
league from the English fort I ordered my men to
march in columns, every officer to his division, that
I might the better dispose of them as necessity would
require." His column was now within striking dis-
tance of the fort, after a drenching and dreary march
of seven hours from Gist's.
Meanwhile, at Fort Necessity, Washington had
been apprised of the arrival of the French at Gist's
on the 2d, and had been constantly on the alert during
the night. Not long after sunrise on the 3d, some of
the advance scouts of the French were seen, and
one of Washington's men on picket was -brought in
wounded, but after this three or four hours passed
without further demonstrations. In the middle of
the forenoon word came by scouts that the enemy in
strong force was within two hours' march, and after-
wards reports of their progress were brought in from
time to time. Washington formed his forces in line
of battle outside tho defenses, awaiting the enemy's
appearance, and hoping to induce him to attack in
the open field. Finally, at a little before noon the ^
French appeared in the edge of the woods towards
bis pursuit wore intrenching themselves at Gist's, 5t. de Villicre dis-
encumbered himself of all bis heavy stores at the Hangard, atid leaving
a sergeant and a few men to guard them and the periagnas, rushed on in
the Hi'jhf, cheered by the hope that he was abi'Ut to .ncbievc a brilliant
tation' fi;i-r- ■ 'i ih.' i ,i!_..i li.h jl,|ii L;v;iy dawn revealed the
rude, liiill ' ■ I ! I . I , ■ ■ f I \\ 1 : 1 I I I ilicre begun to erect.
Thislliil _. u.ral fire. There was
noresi ,i:. , ; . > I ., i . ■ ,i; . i I ,; . ...l .Imgrined, De Villiers
was about tn retrace his t-ti-ps, « hen up cunics a half-starved deserter
from the Great Meadows, and discloses to him the wbereahoutB and des-
titute condition of Washington's forces."
But De Villiers says the deserter was brought to bim while he was on
the march to Gist's, and from him he learned that the camp at that place
had beOQ abandoned by Washington, who bad tiken bis cannon with
him; that, having learned this, they went to the place and "searched it
throughout," finding tools and utensils concealed there ; and finally that,
instead of reaching Gist's place iu ''the gray dawn" of the second of
July, they arrived there so late in the day that the commander decided
to go no farther, and nmde his camp there for the night. As to the
statement that the Fjcnch, on coming to the stockade at Gist's, " at once
invested it and gave a general fire," it is hardly to he supposed that an
officer of De Villiers' experience would have shown sujb headlong im-
pulsiveness as to pour a volley of musketry against the inanimate logs
when no living thing was iu sight.
WASHINGTON'S CAMPAIGN OF 1754 IN THE YOUGHIOGHENY VALLEY. 35
the northwest and began firing at long range, but did
no execution. After a time, finding tliat the enemy
mnnife.sted no disposition to make a general attack.
Col. Washington withdrew his men within the
defenses, the Carolinians occupying the ritle-pit
trenches behind the low log parapet which formed
the outer line (though they were afterwards driven
out, not by the enemy's fire, but the torrents of rain
that inundated the trenches in which they were
posted). The French, finding their fire ineffectual
from their distant position in the woods to the north-
west,' moved to the left, where, on the eastern and
southeastern side of the fort, the forest-line was within
fair musket-range of the work. From this new posi-
tion they opened fire with more effect ; the battle be-
came general, and continued through the remainder
of the day. An account of the conflict at Fort Ne-
cessity is thus given by Sparks :
"At eleven o'clock they [the French] approached
the fort and began to fire, at the distance of six inm-
dred yards, but without eff'ect. Col. Washington had
drawn up his men on the open and level ground out-
side of the trenches, waiting for the attack, which he
presumed would be made as soon as the enemy's
forces emerged from the woods, and he ordered his
men to reserve their fire till they should be near
enough to do execution. The distant firing was sup-
poseil to be a stratagem to draw Washington's men
into the woods, and thus take them at a disadvantage.
He suspected the design, and maintained his post till
he found the French did not incline to leave the
woods and attack the fort by an assault, as he sup-
posed they would, considering their superiority of
numbers. He then drew his men back within the
trenches, and gave them orders to fire according to
their discretion, as suitable opportunities might pre-
sent themselves. The French and Indians remained
on the side of the rising ground which was nearest to
the fort, and, sheltered by the trees, kept up a brisk
fire of musketry, but never appeared in the open plain
below.
" The rain fell heavily through the day, the trenches
* Do Vniiere' nccount of ttie opening of tlie fight was as follows: *' As
we had no knowlodne of tho place, wo prosonted our linnk to the fort
when thpy began to tiro upon us, and almost at the same time I perceived
the English on the right, in order of hatlle, and coming towards us. Tlio
Indians, as well us ourselves, set np a gie;it cry, and advanced towards
them, hut they did not give us time to firo upon tlrem before they shel-
tered themselves in an iutrenchment which was adjoining to their fort,
after which we aimed to invest the fort, which was advantageously
enough situated in a meadow within a musket-shot from the woods. Wo
drew as near to them as possible that we might not expose his Majesty's
subjects to no purpose. Tlie Are was very hrisk on both sides, auil I
chose that place which seemed to me the most proper in cose we should
be exposed to a sally. We fired so briskly as to put out (if I may use
the expression) tho fire of their cannon with our musket-shot." But,
concerning the first part of tlicaliove account by Be Villiers, Washington
afterwards wrote: *' I cannot help remarking on Villiers' account of the
battle of and transaction at the Meadows, as it is very extraordinary,
and not less erroneous than inconsistent. lie says the French received
the first fire. It is well known that in- received it at six hundred prices
distance."
were filled with water, and many of the arms of Col.
Washington's men were out of orrler and used with
dilliculty. In this way the battle continued from
eleven o'clock in the morning till eight at night,
when the French called and recpiested a parley.'
Suspecting this to be a feint to procure the admission
1 of an officer into the fort, that he might discover their
condition, Col. Wa-shington at first declined listening
to the proposal ; but when the call was repeated, with
: the additional request that an officer miglit be sent to
them, engaging at the same time their parole for his
I safety, he sent out Capt. Van Braam, the only i)erson
I under his command that could speak French except
j the Chevalier de Peyronie, an ensign in the Virginia
1 regiment, who was dangerously wounded and disabled
from rendering any service on the occasion. Van
Braam returned, and brought with him from M. de
Villiers, the French commander, proposed articles of
1 capitulation. These he read and pretended to inter-
j pret, and some changes having been made by mutual
j agreement, both parties signed them about mid-
! night."
j It was a mortifying close to Washington's first cam-
paign, and the scene must have been a most dismal
one when he signed the capitulation at dead of night,
amid torrents of rain, by the light of a solitary splut-
tering candle,-' and with his dead and wounded men
around him ; but there was no alternative, and he
had the satisfaction at least of knowing that he had
done his best, and that all his officers, with a single
exception,* had behaved with the greatest coolne.ss
and bravery.
The articles of capitulation were of course written
in French. The following translation of them shows
the terms granted to Washington, viz. :
" AuTici.F 1. — Wc grant leave to the English commander to
retire with all his garrison, and to return peaceably into his
j 2 Tho account given by De Villiers of the closing scenes of the bottle,
and of tho call for a parley, is as follows : " Towards six at night tho fire
j of the enemy increased with more vigor than ever, and lasted until
i light. Wo briskly relumed their fire. We took particular caro losecuro
I our posts to keep the Knglish fast up in their fort all night ; anti after hav-
ing fixed ourselves in the best position wo could we let the English know
that if tliey Wi)Hld speak to us we would stop firing. They accepted tlio
proposal; there came a captain to tho place wliere I was. I sent M. lo
Mercier to receive him, and I went to the Meadow, where I told liim that
as wo were not at war we were very willing to t.ave llicni from (lie cruel-
ties to wliich they exposed themselves on : nni r ih. Tn. linns; hut
if they were stubborn we would take auav i i" i! m i < ;iis of es-
caping; that we consented to be favorable t. ■ ' '1 ' ' i-wewere
come only to revenge my brother's ass.-\B~ii);iti n, lu I i - ' !]-'■ them to
; quit the lands of the king my master. . . ."
j 3 An officer who was present at the capitulation wrote: "When Mr.
I Van Braam returned with the French proposnlswe wereoMiged to take
the sense of them from hi.<; mouth ; it rained so hard that ho could not
give us a written translation of them, and we could scarcely keep the
I candle lighted to read them by."
♦ When, in the following .\ugn8t, tho Virginia House of Burgesses
passed a vote of thanks to Wtishington and his oflicors "for their bravery
I and gallant defense of their country" at Fort Necessity, tho names of all
j the ofTicers were mentioned except that of the major of the legiment,
j who wos charged with cowardice in the battle, and Cai)t. Van Braam,
I who was believed to have acted a treacherous part in interpretinj^ the
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
1 country, nnd iiromisc to hinder bis receiving any insult
n us French, and to restrain, as much as shall be in our
■•AuTicLf: 2. — It shall be permitted him to go out and
Ih him all that belongs to them except the artillery,
illin? thereby
: the
the honors of ■
1 that wc
" AnTicLE I.— That as soon as the articles are signed by
both parties the English colors shall be struck.
"Article 5. — That to-murrow, at break of day, a detachment
of French shall go and make the garrison file off, and take pos-
session of thc.fort.
"Article G. — As the English have but few oxen or horses
left, they are at liberty to hide their effects and to come again
and search for them when they have a number of horses suf-
ficient to carry them off, and th:it for this end they may have
what guards they please, on condition that they give their word
of honor to work no more on any buildings in this place, or any
part on this side of the mountains.
".■iiiTiCLE 7. — And as the English have in their power one
ofiiccr, two cadets, and most of the prisoners made at the as-
sassination of M. de Jumonville, and promise to send them
back with a safe guard to Fort du Quesne, situate on the Ohio,
for surety of their performing this ai tide, as well as this treaty,
MM. Jaeob Van Braam and Robert Stobo, both captains, shall
be delivered as hostages till the arrival of our French and Cnna-
dians above mentioned. "NVe oblige ourselves, on our side, to
give an escort to return these two officers in safety, and expect
to have our French in two months and a half at farthest."
The capitulation was signed by Washington, Mac-
kay, and Villiers. The latter had cunningly caused
the articles to he so worded that the English officers
(who knew nothing of the French language) were
made to sign an apparent acknowledgment that the
killing of Jumonville' was an act of assafssinafion. It
was suspected that Van Braam, the so-called inter-
preter, knowingly connived at the deception, and this
opinion was firmly held by Washington, who after-
wards wrote in reference to it as follows : " That we
were willfully or ignorantly deceived by our inter-
preter in regard to the word assassination I do aver,
and will to my dying moment, so will every officer
that was prfesent. The interpreter was a Dutchman,
little acquainted with the English tongue, therefore
might not advert to the tone and meaning of the
wijrd in English ; but whatever his motives were for
so doing, certain it is he called it the deaih or the
loss of the Sieur Jumonville. So wc received and so
we understood it, until, to our great surprise and
mnrtiflcation, we found it otherwise in a literal trans-
lation."
The numbers of the English forces engaged in the
battle at the Great Meadows are not precisely known.
The Virginia regiment went in three hundred strong,
including officers, and their loss in the engagement
was twelve killed and forty-three wounded.- Capt.
the English.'
"consent to sign lliat they
Mackay's company numbered about oue hundred,
but its losses in killed and wounded were not of-
ficially st.ated. On the French side, according to the
statement of De Villiers, the losses were two French-
man and one Indian killed, fifteen Frenchmen and
two Indians seriously and a number of others slightly
wounded.
On the 4th of July, at break of day, the troops of
Washington filed out of the fort with drums beating
and colors flying, and (without any transportation for
their effects other than was aflbrdcd by the backs and
shoulders of the men, and having no means of carry-
ing tlieir badly wounded except on improvised stretch-
ers) moved sadly away to commence their weary jour-
ney of seventy miles over hills and streams to Wills'
Creek.
Upon the evacuation of the fort by Washington the
French took possession, and immediately proceeded to
demolish the work, while " M. le Mercier ordered the
cannon of the English to be broken, as also the one
granted by capitulation, they not being able to carry
it away." The French commander very prudently
ordered the destruction of some barrels of rum which
were in the fort, to guard against the disorder and
perhaps bloodshed which would probably have en-
sued if the liquor had been allowed to fall into the
hands of the Indians.
De Villiers felt no little anxiety lest the expected
reinforcements to Washington should arrive, which
might place him in an unpleasant position and re-
verec the fortunes of the day. He therefore lost no
time, and took his departure from the Great Meadows
at as early an hour as possible, and marched about
two leagues before he encamped for the night. On
the 5th, at about nine o'clock in the forenoon, he
arrived at Gist's, where he demolished the stockade
which Washington had partially erected there, "and
after having detached M. de la Chauvignerie to bum
the houses round about," continued on the route to-
wards Redstone, to a point about three leagues north-
west of Gist's, where his forces made their night
bivouac. In the morning of the 6th they moved at
an early hour, and reached the mouth of Redstone at ■
ten o'clock. There they " put their periaguas in order,
victualed the detachment, carried away the reserve of
provisions which they had left there, found several
things which the English had hidden," and then,
after burning the " Hangard" store-house, embarked,
and went down tlie Monongahela. In the passage
down the river, says De Villiers, " we burned down
all the settlements we found," and about four o'clock
in the afternoon of the 7th of July they arrived at
Fort du Quesne.
As to the manner of the departure of Washington's
troops from the surrendered fort, De Villiers said,
"The number of their dead and wounded moved me
to ]Mty, notwithstanding my resentment for their
BRADDOCKS EXPEDITION IN 1755.
37
hnving in such a manner taken away my brother's
life. The savages, who in everything had adhered to
my wishes, claimed the right of plunder, but I re-
strained them ; however, tlie English being fright-
ened (led, and left their tents and one of their colors."
But Washington, commenting on these statements of
De Villiers, said, in a letter written not long after-
wards, "That we left our bagg.ige and horses at the
Uleadows is certain ; that there was not even a possi-
bility to bring them away is equally certain, as wc
had every horse belonging to the camp killed or taken
away during the action, so that it was impracticable
to bring anything otT that our shoulders were not able
to bear, and to wait there was impossible, for we had
scarce three days' provisions, and were seventy miles
from a supply, yet to say that we came off precipi-
tately is absolutely false, notwithstanding they did,
contrary to the articles, suffer their Indians to pillage
our baggage' and commit all kinds of irregularity.
Wc were with them until ten o'clock the next day ;
we destroyed our powder and other stores, nay, even
our private baggage, to prevent its falling into their
hands, as wc could not bring it off. When we had
got about a mile from the place of action we missed
two or three of the wounded, and sent a party back
to bring them up; this is the party he speaks of.
We brought them all safe oft", and encamped within
three miles of the Jleadows. The.se are circum-
stances, I think, that make it evidently clear that we
were not very apprehensive of danger. The colors
lie speaks of as left were a large flag of immense size
and weight; our regimental colors were brought off,
and are now in my possession."-'
From his camping-ground, three miles southeast
of the demolished fort, the Virginia regiment, with
Mackay's South Carolinians, moved forward in the
morning of the 5th of .luly, and fording the Youghio-
gheny at the Great Crossings, retraced their steps
over the route previously traveled, and reached Wills'
Creek after a slow and very toilsome journey. From
that place Washington went to Alexandria, and the
"Virginia troops returned to their homes. Mackay's
1 "Wo nU know tliat the Froiicli are n people tliat never pny any re-
gard to treaties lou?:er than tlie.v ninl tlicni consistent witli tlieir interest,
anil this troalv [iho Fort S.n-ssity rapitnlation articles] tliey brolje ini-
mediatt'ly, iv iriiiuj iln li. ;i m- i. m h-li and destroy everything onr
people liit'l. ' -i . : I' II- r . tiiat uur wounded should meet
with no nil „ III Col. J.iiiia Iiiaa lo Gov.
Mtapiua
s Unit
the Half King
Tiir.acliaris
W,.hingto„-
SRldlit
vasamil.laryc
onininnder.
iud freely
expressed that
opiiuon to the India
1 agent and interpreter, Con
nid Weise.
who reiwrted
it as follows:
"Tile colonel [Washington] was a good-nature<l man, but h:id no e.x-
would have tliein evei-y day upon the scotil. and to attack the enemy by
themselves, but would by no means take advice frx>Di the Indians, lie
lay in one place from one full uioon to the other, without making any
furtitications except that little thing on the Meadow, whereas had ho
taken advice and built such fortifications as he [Tanacliarisun] advised
kim, he might easily have bent otT the French. But the French in the
eugagement," he said, "acted like cowards, and the English like fools."
Carolina company remained at Wills' Creek, and to-
gether with two independent companies from New
York, — all under command of Col. James Innes, —
erected the fortification afterwards called " Fort Cum-
berland." This was then the western outpost of Eng-
lish power, and in all the country west of the moun-
tains there was left r.o bar to Freiuli oecui'atii n and
supremacy.
CHAPTER VI.
i;i!Ari|iiH'K'.S liXPKDITIOX IX 1705.
' The news of Washington's defeat, and the conse-
quent domination of the French over the broad terri-
! tory west of the AUeghenies, was forwarded without
delay to England, where it produced a general alarm
I and excitement, and roused the ministry to a dcter-
1 mination to retrieve the disaster and expel the French,
i at whatever cost, from the valleys of the Mononga-
hela and Allegheny Rivers. In pursuance of this de-
termination, it was decided to send out a military
I force, to march from the Potomac to the " Forks of
' the Ohio," there to wrest from the French, by force
' of arms, their most menacing possession, — Fort du
! Quesne.-'
The expeditionary force, which was intended to be
a very formidable one (for that early day), was to be
i composed of the Forty-fourth and Forty-eighth Royal
Regiments of Foot,* commanded respectively by Col.
Sir Peter Hulket and Col. Thomas Dunbar, with
some other troops to be raised in Virginia and other
American provinces. The command of the expedi-
tion was given to Major-General Edward Braddock,
of the regular British army, who was also made
commander-in-chief of all his JIajcsty's forces in
America.
{ Gen. Braddock sailed from Cork, Ireland, on the
14th of January, with the two regular regiments, on
board the fleet of Admiral Keppel, of the British
I navy. The fleet arrived iu Hampton Roads on the
I 20th of February, and the general, with the admiral,
disembarked there and proceeded to Williamsburg,
Va., for conference with Governor Dinwiddle. There,
also, the general met his quarterma.ster-gcneral. Sir
John Sinclair, who had preceded him to America, and
had already visited Fort Cumberland to make the
preliminary arrangements for the campaign. "Vir-
ginia levies" had already been raised for the purpose
of being incorporated with the Forty-fourth and
Forty-eighth Regiments, and these levies had been
ordered to Alexandria, whither, also, the fleet wa-s
ordered for disembarkation of the troops.
» There were, however, two other expeditions projected,— one against
Kiagara anil Fronten;ic, under Gen. Shirley, and another against Crown
Point, under Gen. William Johnson ; hut the principal one was that in-
tended for the reduction of Fort dii Qiiosne.
■< These regiments, however, were far from being full, numbering only
about tive hundred men each.
38
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Leaving Williamsburg, Gen. Braddock, Sir John
Sinclair, and the admiral arrived on the 26lh at Alex-
andria, which place was the headquarters of the ex-
pedition for nearly two months, during which time
(on the 14th of April) a council was held there, com-
posed of the commander-in-chief, Admiral Keppel,
Gov. Dinwiddle, of Virginia, Gov. Shirlej', of Mas-
sachusetts, Gov. Delaucey, of New York, Gov. Morris,
of Pennsylvania, and Gov. Sharpe, of Maryland ; at
which conference the plan of the campaign' was de-
cided on, and arrangements made to facilitate the for-
warding of the provincial troops destined for the ex-
pedition.
Sir John Sinclair was dispatched from Alexandria
soon after his arrival with orders to proceed to Win-
chester, Va., and thence to Fort Cumberland, to com-
plete all arrangements for the army's transportation.
By his advice Braddock adopted the plan of moving
his force from Alexandria in two divisions, viz.: one
regiment and a portion of the stores to proceed to
Winchester, whence a new road was nearly completed
to Fort Cumberland, and the other regiment, with the
remainder of the stores and the artillery, to move to
the fort (which had been designated as the general
rendezvous) by way of Frederick, Md. Accordingly,
on the 9th of April, Sir Peter Halket left Alexandria
for the fort, by way of Winchester, with six com-
panies of the Forty-fourth Regiment, leaving the
other four companies behind under command of
Lieut. -Col. Gage^ to escort the artillery. On the 18th
Col. Dunbar, with the Forty-eighth, marched for
Frederick, Md., and the commander-in-chief left
Alexandria for the same place on the 20th, leaving
Gage to follow with the artillery. When Dunbar
arrived at Frederick he found that there was no road
to Cumberland through Maryland,'' and accordingly,
on the 1st of May, he recrossed the Potomac, struck
the Winchester route, and nine days later was in the
neighborhood of the fort. " At high noon on the
10th of May, while Halket's command was already
encamped at the common destination, the Forty-
eighth was startled by the passage of Braddock and
his staff through their ranks, with a body of light-
horse galloping on each side of his traveling chariot,
in haste 'to reach Fort Cumberland. The troops
saluted, the drums rolled out the Grenadiers' March,
and the cortege passed by. An hour later they heard
I The council, liowcvei , liad renlly nothing to do willi the adoiition of
he plan of operations, whicli was made entirely according to the niar-
inet ideas and opiniMnsof the conunaniler-iu-cliief.
= The same Gagu « lu lui major-general commanded the British forces
n Boston in 1775.
■■' Ca|it. Ornie, in his journal of the expedition, s.iys, " The general
rdered a bridge to be built over the Antietuni, which being furnished
nd provision laid upon the road Col. Duubar marched with his regiment
rum Frederick on the 2Sth of April, and about ttiis time the bridge over
heOpeccon was tiuished for the pass;i^ I II, ■ n ■ ill. i \ . atid floats were
milt ou all the rivers and creeks." I, \ i, , im e mentioned
5 the same historic stream whose lu.ii-r niK-ssed the ter-
ific battle between the Union and L.tiii 1 i ,i, l,..-:. ler McClellan
till Lee, on the 17tb of SeptemLer, ISUJ.
the booming of the artillery which welcomed the gen-
eral's arrival, and a little later themselves encamped
on the hillsides about that post." The artillery es-
corted by Gage arrived at the fort on the 20th.
Arriving at the fort on the 10th, the general re-
mained there about one month, during which time
his expeditionary force was completed and organized.
Two companies, Rutherford's and Clarke's, had been
stationed at the fort during the winter, and were still
there. The Forty-fourth and Forty-eighth regulars
had been augmented to a total of fourteen hundred-
men by the addition of Virginia and Maryland levies
at Alexandria. A company of Virginia light-horse,
under command of Capt. Stewart, acted as the gen-
eral's body-guard. A body of seventy provincials
was formed into two companies of pioneers, each
having a captain, two subalterns, and two sergeants,
and with these was also a very small company of guides.
A lieutenant, Mr. Spendelow, and two midshipmen
from Admiral Keppel's fleet were present with about
thirty sailors to have charge of the cordage and
tackles, necessary for the building of bridges and the
hoisting of artillery pieces and other heavy material
over precipices. The other provincial troops brought
the total number up to about two thousand one hun-
dred and fifty, including officers, but exclusive of wag-
oners and the usual complement of non-combatant
camp-followers, among whoin were a number of
women. There were eight friendly Indians who ac-
companied the expedition.
The forces of Gen. Braddock were brigaded by his
orders as follows :
First Brigade, commanded by Sir Peter Halket,
composed of
The Forty-fourth Regiment of Regulars.
Capt. John Rutherford's ] Independent Companies
Capt. Horatio Gates' ' J of New York.
Capt. William Poison's Company of Pioneers and
Carpenters.
Capt. William Peyronie's Virginia Rangers.
Capt. Thomas Waggoner's Virginia Rangers.
Capt. Eli Dagworthy's Maryland Rangers.
Second Brigade, commanded by Col. Thomas Dun-
bar, composed of
The Forty-eighth Regiment of Regulars.
Capt. Paul Demerie's South Carolina detachment.
Capt. Dobbs' North Carolina Rangers.
Capt. Mercer's Company of Carpenters and Pio-
neers.
Capt. Adam Stephen's ^
Capt. Peter Hogg's ;• Virginia Rangers.
Capt. Thoma.s Cocke's )
Capt. Andrew Lewis had been sent with his com-
pany of Virginians to the Greenbrier River for the
protection of settlers there ; but he afterwards rejoined
Braddock's column on its way to Fort du Quesne.
vards Major-General Gates, to whom Burgoj-ne surrendered r
BRADDOCK'S EXPEDITION IN 1755.
39
The fielil-ofTicers under Brnddock were Lieutenant-
Colonels Burton and Gage ; Majors Chapman and
Sparks; Brigade-Major Francis Halket; Major Sir
John Sinclair, deputy quartermaistcr-general ; Mat-
thew Leslie, assistant quartermaster-general. The
secretary to the commanding general was William
Shirley, and his aides-de-camp were Capt. Robert
Orme, George Washington,' and Roger Morris.
Christopher Gist and Nathaniel Gist, his son, ac-
companied the expedition as principal guides. George
Croghan and .-\ndrew Montour were with the general
as Indian interpreters.
" The soldiers were ordered to be furnished with
one new spare shirt, one new pair of stockings, and
one new pair of shoes ; and Osnabrig waistcoats and
breeches were provided for them, as the excessive
heat would have made the others insupportable; and
the commanding officers of companies were desired
to provide leather or bladders for the men's hats."'^
The transportation which was collected at Fort
Cumberland for the use of Braddock's force consisted
of one hundred and ninety wagons and more than
fifteen hundred horses. When he landed in Virginia
he expected that " two hundred wagons and one hun-
dred and fifty carrying-horses" would be furnished by
the provincial authorities, but when he arrived at
Frederick, Md., lie found that not more than a tenth
part that number had been raised, and that some of
these even were in an unserviceable condition. Upon
learning this he burst out in fierce invective against
the inefficiency, poverty, and lack of integrity among
the provincials, and declared that the expedition was
at an end, for that it was impracticable to proceed
without one hundred and fifty wagons, and a corre-
sponding number of horses at the very least. But Dr.
Benjamin Franklin, who was present at Frederick,
told the general that the Pennsylvania farmers were
able to furnish the necessary transportation, and that
he (Franklin) would contract for a specified sum to
1 After liis return from the Fort Kocessity cnmpuign, Cid. Wnsliing-
toii's rank, ns well as tliat of other coIuiuhI onicers, wivs reduced Ijy
royal onier, wliiult caused liiiti to resign his coQiniift<ion,and iit tlie time
of Gen. Braddock's arrival in .\nicricii lie was not in the militiry ser-
vice. But Uraddcick, well aware of the importance of securing Ids
sen-ices, urged WiLshington to take the position of volunteer aide-de-
camp on his staff, and the offer, so earnestly pressed, was accepted.
Sparks, in his " Life of Washington" (page 58), in speaking of Wash-
ington's acceptance of Bnidilock's pniposilion to accompjiny him on the
expedition as a niemher of hJ9 military family, says, " His views on the
suluect were explained, with a becoming rmiikness and elevation of
minil, in a letter to a friend: 'I may he allowed,' said he, 'to claim
some merit if it is considered that tho sjle motive which invites me to
the field is the laudahle desire of serving my country, lu.t the gnitiflca-
tion of Any ambitious or lucmtive plans. This, I flatter myself, will
manifestly appear by my going as a volunteer, without expectation of
reward or pronpcut of obtitiiiinfj (I cowmmul, as I am confidently assured
U it not in Gencnit Eradflocfi's jioicer to gh-e me a commiMiou tliut I icould
accept. ... It is true I have been importuned to make this camimign
I'y Gen. Bradduck as a member of his family, he conceiving, I snp[)ose,
that the small knowledge I had an op|)urtunity of acquiring of the
country and the Indians is worthy of his notice, and may be useful to
him in the progre-s of the expedition.' "
-Capt. Dime's Journol.
deliver one hundred and fifty wagons and the neces-
sary horses at Fort Cumberland within a given time,
whereupon Braddock proceeded on his march ; and in
about two weeks Franklin had assembled the specified
number of wagons and animals at the fort. Gen.
Braddock was very grateful for this service, and he
warmly complimented Franklin in a letter which he
wrote to the Secretary of State, dated at Wills' Creek,
June 5th, as follows:
"Before I left Williamsburg the quartermaster-gen-
eral told me that I might depend on twenty-five hun-
dred horses and two hundred wagons from Virginia
and Maryland ; but I liad great reason to doubt it,
having experienced the false dealings of all in this
country with whom I had been concerned. Hence,
before my departure from Frederick, I agreed with
Mr. Benjamin.Franklin, postmaster in Pennsylvania,
who has great credit in that province, to hire one
hundred and fifty wagons and the necessary number
of horses. This he accomplished with promptitude
and fidelity; and it is almost the only instance of
address and integrity which I have seen in all these
provinces."
It has been said that, in procuring the wagons and
horses from the Teutonic farmers in the Southern
Pennsylvania counties, he was materially aided by the
presence pf Braddock's quartermaster-general. "Sir
John Sinclair* wore a Hussar's cap, and Franklin
made use of the circumstance to terrify the German
settlers with the belief that he was a Hu.ssar, who
would administer to them the tvrannical treatment
3 This same Sir John Sinclair was a. man of very rough speech nnd
imperious and domineerng rhnractor, as is made api>arent by the fol-
lowing extract from a 1' tf'-r ^vr'tt' n I'V '^Tessrs. George Croghan, James
Burd, John Arnistr.jiiu, N^ 1 . i m, and Adam Hoops to Gover-
nor Morris, of Peun-i I :! ' 'iiinberland, April 10, 1735, at
which time some of tl mi; i: ;. -, :i- w ill as Sir John himself, had
already reached the renclezviu*. The writers of the letter had been
appointed to view and lay out a road over the mountains, i^nd had re-
turned from their mission to the fort. In the letter they say, "Last
evening we came to the camp, and were kindly received liy tho ofTicera,
but particularly Capt. Rutherford. We waited for Sir John coming to
camp from the road towards Winchester, who came this day at three
o'clock, but treated us in a very disagreeable manner. He is extremely
warm and angry at our province ; he would not look at our draughts,
nor suffer any representations to be made to him in regard to the prov-
ince, but stormed like a lion rampant. He said our commission to lay
out tho road should have issued in January last, upon his first letter;
that doing it now is dcdng nothing; that tho troops must march on the
first of May; that the want of this road and the provisions promised by
Pennsylvania has retarded the expedition, which may cost them their
lives, because of the fresh number nf the FreiRli that are suddenly like
to be poured into the < iiirti\ n it in-ti ili) mi:' Ling to the Ohio he
would in nine da>s n,:r : ' i ' i.unty, to cut tho
roadH, press wagons, ft' li i ' , ; , i i ililier to handle an
axe, but by fire and swm i ' i I .i ili- mliil it mt t i ili. it, and take every
man that refused to the Oiiin, tis h e hail yeetenltiy some of the Virginians;
that he would kill all kind of cjitile, and carry away the horses, burn
houses, etc. ; and that if the French defeated thei'. by tho dehi.vs of this
province, that he would with his sword drawn pass through the prov-
ince and treat the inhabitants as a parcel of traitors to his master; that
he would to-morrow write to England by a man.of.war, shake Mr.
Tenn's proprietaryship, and represent Pennsylvania as disaffected, . . .
ids for one he It
■ gene
Igivc uate
40
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENXSYLVANIA.
they had experienced in their owu country if tliey
did not comply with his wislies."
At a council of war held at Fort Cumberland the
order of march was determined on, viz. : the advance
was to be led by " a party of six hundred men,
workers and coverers, with a field-officer and the
([uartermaster-general ; that they should take with
them two six-pounders, with a full proportion of am-
munition ; that they should also take with them eight
days' provisions for three thousand two hundred men ;
that they should make the road as good as possible,
and march five days towards the first crossing of the
Yoxhio Geni,' which was about thirty miles from the
camp, at which place they were to make a deposit of
jjrovisions, building proper sheds for its security, and
also a place of arms for the security of the men. If
they could not in five days advance sa far, they were
at the exj)iration of that time to choose an advan-
tageous spot, and to secure the provisions and men as
before. When the wagons were unloaded the field-
officer with three hundred men was to return to camp,
and Sir John S' Clair with the first engineer was to
remain and carry on the works with the other three
hundred." '^
This advance detachment was to be followed by the
remainder of the forces in three divisions, in the fol-
lowing order: First, Sir Beter Halket's pommand,
with " about one hundred wagons of provisions, stores,
and powder ;" second, Lieutenant-Colonel Burton,
" with the independent companies, Virginia, Mary-
land, and Carolina Rangers," taking the artillery, am-
munition, and some stores and provisions; third.
Colonel Dunbar's brig.ide, " with the provision-
wagons from Winchester, the returned wagons from
the advanced party, and all the carrying-horses."
In accordance with this order. Major Chapman with
a body of six hundred men, and accompanied by Sir
John Sinclair, marched at daybreak on the 30th of
May, but " it was night before the whole baggage had
got over a mountain about two miles from camp. . . .
The general reconnoitred this mountain, and deter-
mined to set the engineers and three hundred more
men at work on it, as he thought it impassable by
howitzers. He did not imagine any other road could
be made, as a reconnoitring-party had already been
to explore the country; nevertheless, Mr. Spendelow,
lieutenant of the seamen, a young man of great
discernment and abilities, acquainted the general that
in passing that mountain he had discovered a valley
which led quite round the foot of it. A party of a
hundred men with an engineer was ordered to cut a
road there, and an extreme good one was made in
two days, which fell into the other road about a mile
on the other side of the mountain."
"Everything being now .settled, Sir Peter Halket,
with the Forty-fourth Regiment, marched on the 7th
of June; Lieutenant-Colonel Burton, with the inde-
l YuUgl,iogliei].v. : Oin.i^'s Jouiuul.
pendent companies and Rangers, on the 8th, and Col-
onel Dunbar, with the Forty-eighth Regiment, on the
10th, with the proportions of baggage as was settled
by the council of war. The same day the general
left Fort Cumberland, and joined the whole at Sjjen-
delow Camp, about five miles from the fort." ^ The
name of this camp was given in honor of Lieutenant
Spendelow, the discoverer of the new route around
the foot of the mountain.
At Spendelow Camp a reduction of baggage was
made, and the surplus sent back to the fort, together
with two six-pounders, four cohorns, and some powder
and stores, which cleared about twenty wagons of
their loads, "and near a hundred able horses were
given to the public service. . . . All the king's
wagons were also sent back to the fort, they beingj
too heavy, and requiring large horses for the shafts,
which could not be procured, and country wagonsi
were fitted for powder in their stead."
On the 13th the column moved to Martin's plan- \
tation ; on the 15th it " passed the Aligany Moun-
tain, which is a rocky ascent of more than two miles,
in many places exceedingly steep ; its descent is very
rugged and almost perpendicular; in passing which
we entirely demolished three wagons and shattered,
several." That night the First Brigade camped about
three miles west of Savage River. On the 16th the
head of the column reached the Little Meadows, ten
miles from Martin's plantation ; but the rear did not
arrive there until the 18th. At this place they found
Sir John Sinclair encamped with three hundred men,
this being the farthest point he could reach in the
five days specified in the orders.
At the Little Meadows the general adopted a new
plan of campaign, — to move forward with a division
composed of some of his best troops, with a few guns
and but little baggage, leaving the remainder of his
force behind to bring up the heavy stores and artillery.
This decision was taken largely through the advice
of Washington, who, although not of rank to sit in the
councils of war, possessed no small share of the gen-
eral's confidence, by reason of the experience he had
gained in the campaign of the preceding year. He
gave it as his opinion that the movement of the army
was too slow, on account of the cumbrous wagon-
train, which on the march stretched out for a distance
of more than three miles, thus not only retarding the
progress of the forces, but aftbrding an excellent op-
portunity for lurking parties of the enemy to attack
and destroy some lightly-defended part of it before
help could arrive from the main body. He had from
the first urged the use of pack-horses instead of wagons
for the greater part of the transportation, and although
his advice was ignored by the general, its wisdom now
became apparent. Ornie's Journal says that by the
experience of the four days' march from Spendelow
Camp to the Little Meadows, " it was found impos-
BRADDOCK'S EXPEDITION IN 1755.
41
I sible to proceed with such a number of carriages.
The horses grew every day fainter, and many died;
the men would not have been able to have undergone
the constant and necessary fatigue by remaining so
many hours under arms, and by the great extent of
the baggage the line was extremely weakened. The
general was therefore determined to move forward
with a detachment of the best men, and as little en-
cumbrance as possible."
The selected force destined to move in the advance
consisted of between twelve and thirteen hundred
men. " A detachment of one field-officer with four
hundred men and the deputy quartermaster-general
marched on the 18th to cut and make the road to the
Little Crossing of the Yoxhio Geni, taking with them
two six-pounders with their ammunition, three wagons
of tools, and thirty-five days' provisions, all on carry-
ing-liorses, and on the IDth the general marched with
a detachment of one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel,
one m.ijor, the two eldest grenadier companies, and
iive liundred rank and file, the party of seamen, and
eighteen light-horse, and four howitzers with fifty
rounds each, and four twelve-pounders with eighty
rounds each, and one hundred rounds of ammunition
ftr each man, and one wagon of Indian presents; the
whole number of carriages being about thirty. The
howitzers had each nine horses, tlie twelve-pounders
seven, and the wagons six. There was also thirty-
five days' provisions carried on liorses." Tlie troops
left behind with Col. Dunbar numbered about nine
hundred, including four artillery officers. Eighty-
four wagons and all the ordnance stores and provis-
ions not immediately needed by the advance column
"(vere also left in his charge.
The advanced force under IJraddock reached the
Little Cro.ssings (Castleman's River) on the evening
of the 10th, and camped on the west side of the
stream. At this camp Col. Washington was taken
seriously ill with a fever, and when the troops marched
the next morning he was left behind with a guard and
proper attendance' and comforts. As soon as able he
was to come on with the rear division under Col.
Dunbar; but it has beeu stated that he asked and
• 111 some iiccoiiiita of tliis sickness of Wusliington, it li»s Icen sinted
tliot Dr. James Cniili (wlio wns willi tlie cxp.-.Iilion as ii siirginn in
the Virtrtniii iroops, nml wlio wns nlso tlf :in ; .:i^ f;!. nl ,,n.| plijsi-
danof Wasliiugton) wns left tchind nt 111 I - r . aiteiid
liiln, liut sitcli does nut nppotir tu liave I L'i'ii T'< ., i ;, il.ii .liiriics
Kiiiille), in a letter written to tlie editor i.f V ' l V. imps-
town, Pa., Mnrcli 27,1818, relates some coi.vr i - , - » I I , ; K.ilwitll
Wmliinglon in lefereiico toDniddock'sinmi .1 : ll.rUio
fallowing extract-! are made: "On one li. 1 .11 i :. .1 |iaijy,
some qnc-stioii 1., in- ;L-ki-.l ,.f iiu-, then silling n. x ili. I' -i : mi i Wash-
ington), nl.n, it I!, r.i^ M, 1,1 uaand Dnnl.iir'3 Itiiii, hj- Col. Sprigg, of
M»r)lan.l, V I I ! . IV «er, the President, to whom I referred
tlieqiiesti. 11, i , ,1 1 I _ . 1.1 (li scribed Duiibars camp, to whitli the
remains i.fUi.iaa .. ;.',,..i;...v .lined ulterthcdefeat. . . . Looking round
seriously to me, he said, ' Bi-iid<lock was liotli my geiicnil and my physician.
I was attacked with a dangerous fever on the luaicli, and he left a ser-
geant [not a «i(r^eon] to take care of nic, inid Jdiiiee^ fexer jioufUri^, kUU
iirtclit'itn hoic to 'jive tlieiit, and a wagon to hriiig me on when I w ould be
able, which was only the day before the defeat.' "
received from Gen. Braddock a promise that the fort
should not be attacked until he had recovered aiul
rejoined the assaulting column. It does not, however,
seem reasonable to suppose that he would have wished
to jeopardize the success of the expedition by asking
such an indefinite delay, nor that liraddock would,
under any circumstances, have bound himsclt by :-ucli
a promise.
In four days from his departure IVom the Little
Meadows, Gen. IJraddock's column had made nine-
teen miles, and arrived at the Great Crossings of the
Youghiogheny. The troops crossed the river without
bridging,- and on the night of the 24th of June made
their first camp within the present territory of Fay-
ette County, mar a place known as the Twelve
Springs, between Mount Augusta and Marlow's, south
of the National road. Their march of that day was
only a distance of about six miles, from the river to
their night camp. During the day they passed an
Indian' camp, recently vacated, which gave indica-
tions that it had been occupied by about one hundred
and seventy persons. " They had stripped and painted
some trees, upon which they and the French had
written many threats and bravadoes, with all kinds
of scurrilous language." The French had received
early information of Braddock's coming, and parties of
them with their Indian alliesliad advanced east beyond
the Laurel Hill to meet the English; not for the
purpose of attacking them, but to hover along their
front and flanks, to spy out their movements, murder
stragglers, and to keep the commandant at Fort du
Quesnc informed, from day to day, of the progress of
the English forcts. From the time when the troops
crossed the Youghiogheny hostile Indians were always
near them along the route, and evidences of their
presence multiplied with each succeeding day's march.
In fact, nearly all the savages west of the mountains
were now ranged on the side of the French. A few
only of the Indian allies of the English had remained
true to them after the surrender of Fort Necessity,
and among these were Scarooyada, the successor of
the friendly Htilf-king,'- and Mouacatoocha, whose
acquaintance lie had m.ide on his trip to Le Bojuf in
the previous year. These two chiefs, with nearly one
hundred and fifty Seneca and Delaware warriors, had
joined the English on their march to the Youghio-
gheny, and projioscd to accompany them as scouts •
and guides. They could without doubt liave ren-
dered great service in that capacity, and if the warn-
ings of their forest experience had been listened to,
might perhaps have saved Braddock's army from the
disaster which overtook it. But the general despised
and rejected their services, and treated them with so
= .Kn entry in Oimc-s Jnnrnal for this day is to tliis 'fTert : "The 24th
of Juno we marched at five in the mnriiing, and passed the second
branch of the Yoxhio Ceiii, which is about one hundred yards wide,
about three feet Jee|i, with a very strong current. "
3 The Half-King, Tunacharieon, liad died in the preceding OctoLcr, at
Harris' Ferry (now Ilarrislurg), on the Su^<iuchanDa.
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
much ol'sliglit and contempt that they finally retired
in disgust and left him to his fate.
On the 25th of June, " at daybreak, three men who
went without the sentinels were shot and scalped."
Gen. Braddock was greatly incensed at these mur-
ders, and issued an order directing that " every sol-
dier or Indian shall receive five pounds for each
Indian scalp." On this day the column moved from
its first camp west of the Youghiogheny to another
about seven miles fiirther on, sometimes spoken of as
the Old Orchard Camp, "near and northwest of
Braddock's grave," mentioned in Orrae's Journal as
" two miles on the other side" of the Great Meadows,'
the general riding in anticipated triumph over the
very spot which in twenty days was to be his last
resting-place. On the following day the troops
marched only four miles (the route being exceedingly
rough and toilsome), and encamped for the night at
the Great Bock, near Washington's Spring, the same
])lace which liad been the camp-ground of the Half-
King when he and Washington marched to attack
tlie camp of Jumonville. At this halting-place they
found the marks of another French and Indian camp,
so lately vacated that the fires were yet burning. The
Indians who had occupied it, said Orme, "liad marked
in triumph upon trees the scalps they had taken two
days before, and many of the French had written on
them their names and sundry insolent expressions.
We picked up a commission on the nmrch, which
mentioned the party being under the command of the
Sieur Normanville. This Indian camp was in a strong
situation, being upon a high rock, with a very nar-
row and steep ascent to the top. It had a spring in
the middle, and stood at the termination of the In-
dian path to the Monongahela, at the confluence of
Bedstone Creek. By this pass the party came which
attacked Mr. Washington last year, and also this
which attended us. By their tracks they seemed to
have divided here, the one party going straight for-
ward to Fort du Quesne, and the other returning by
Bedstone Creek to the Monongahela. A captain,
four Kulialtern,-;, and ninety volunteers marched from
the eaiii]! with |.r<)]>er uuiiles to fall in the night upon
that party which we imagined had returned by the
Monongahela. They found a small quantity of pro-
visions and a very large bateau, which they de-
stroyed," but they saw nothing of the foe they were
sent to capture.
The march of the 27th of June was from the camp
' A1tlioti{;h Wasliington
cuiitributed its share <
Brnddocli was Imlting a
resistance and attncli i
at the Great Rock (called by Orme " Rock Fort") to
Gist's plantation, about six miles, over an extremely
rough and mountainous road. At Gist's they found
Lieut. -Col. Burton and Sir John Sinclair, with a de-
tachment of about four hundred men, who had been
sent forward to cut out the road in advance of the
main body.
From Fort Cumberland to Gist's plantation the
army marched over the road opened by Washington
in the previous year, but beyond Gist's the route was
a new one, known only to the guides.^ On the 28th
of June the column moved from Gist's to the Youghio-
gheny, near Stewart's Crossings, or, as Orme's Jour-
nal has it, " the troops marched about five miles to a
camp on the east side of the Yoxhio Geni." In men-
tioning it as the east side the captain was wholly in
error, but the reason why he made such a mistake
was doubtless that, knowing the expeditionary force
t~> be moving towards an objective point far to the
westward of the place from which it started, it seemed
natural that it should cross all streams from their
eastern to their western banks ; whereas, in making
this second crossing of the Youghiogheny, exactly the
reverse was the case, because Braddock on leaving
Gist's had deflected his column from its true course,
and was now marching in a direction nearly north-
east.
The place where the troops encamped was a short
distance below the present borough of New Haven,
and there, for some cause which is not apparent,
they lay all day on the 29th. On the 30th they
crossed the river to its right bank at a place since
known as Braddock's Ford,'' very near the later resi-
dence of Col. W^illiam Crawford, who died by torture
at the hands of the Indians in 1782, as narrated in
succeeding pages.
As to the crossing of the Youghiogheny at " Brad-
dock's Ford," Captain Orme's journal says, " We
crossed the main body of the Joxhio Geni, which
was about two hundred yards broad, and about three
feet deep. The advanced guard passed and took post
on the other side till our artillery and baggage got
over, which was followed by four hundred men, who
remained on the east [west] side till all the baggage
2 It was on the "Nemacolin
point ill Westmoreland Connty
patli
," which from Gist's northward t
ilongtho route of the Catawba trail
of the Six Nations.
8 " It has been commonly supposed," says Mr. Vrech, " that a division
of the ai my took place here in the march, tlio English troops, etc., here
crossing the river and bearing northward, whilo the Virginia or coto
forces went down the rivet and crossed at the Broad Ford; thence I
ing more to the west, crossing Jacob's Creek at Stouffer's Mill, the
divisions reuniting atSewickley, near Painter's Salt-Works. There may
be error in tliis idea. Orme's Journal has nonoticeof any sncli divis
The Broad Ford route nuiy be that which was traversed by the detj
nients or convoys of provisions, etc., from Dunbar's division, which v
from time to time sent np to the main army ; one of whicli, Orme s
came up at Thickety Kun, a branch of Sewickley, on the 6tli of J
Another detachment of one hundred men, with pack-horee loads of Hour
and some beeves, according to ■Washington's lettei-s, left the camp we»-1
of the Great Meadows on the 3d of July. . . This convoy took np thi
one huiidrcd beeves, which were among the los es in the defeat."
BRADDOCKS EXPEDITION IN 1755.
43
had i)nssed. We were obliged to encamp about a mile
on tlie west [meaning the east] side, where we lialted
R day to cut a passage over a mountain. This day's
march did not exceed two miles." On the 1st of
July the column moved on about five miles in a
north-northeast direction, but could advance no far-
ther by reason of a great swamp, which required much
work to make it passable." In reference to this swamp,
Veech says, " It can be no other than that fine-looking
champaign land about the head-waters of Mounts'
Creek and Jacob's Creek, north and east of the old
chain bridge, embracing lands formerly of Col. Isaac
Meason, now George E. Hogg and others."
A march of six miles on the 2d of July brought the
army to "Jacob's Cabin," where its camp was made
for the night. On the 3d, " the swamp being repaired,"
says the journal, " we marched about six miles to tlie
Salt Lick Creek.' Sir John S' Clair proposed to the
General to halt at this Camp, and to send back all
our horses to bring up Colonel Dunbar's detachment,"
which was then encamped at Squaw's Fort, about
three miles east of the Great Crossings of the Youghio- j
gheny, in the present county of Somerset. Upon \
this sugge-stion of Sir John, the general convened a '
council of war, composed of Colonel Sir Peter Hal-
ket, Lieutenant-Colonels Gage and Burton, Major
Sparks, and Sir John Sinclair, D.Q.G. After due
consideration of the proposition, " the council were
unanimously of the opinion not to halt there for Col-
onel Dunbar, but to proceed the next morning."
The camp on Jacob's Creek, where this council
of war was held, was about one and one-half miles ',
below Mount Pleasant. From this place the column
marched on through what is now Westmoreland
County to the Great Sewickley, crossing that stream
near Painter's Salt- Works; thence south and west of [
the post-office of Madison and Jacksonville to the I
Brush Fork of Turtle Creek, where Braddock halted !
in indecision, as the crossing of that stream and the
passage through the ravines appeared hazardous. He
finally decided to abandon the route orig'inally pro-
posed from this point along the ridges to Fort du
Quesne, and accordingly, turning sharply to the left,
he moved towards the Monongahela, encamping on
the night of the 8th of July about two miles east of '
the river, below the mouths of the Youghiogheny.
It was at this camp that Washington (although not
yet fully recovered from his illness) rejoined the army,
having left Colonel Dunbar's force near the Great
Meadows,' and come on "in a covered wagon," under
protection of a detachment sent on to guard a pack-
^lorse train laden with provisions for the advance
bolumn.
1 Now knowD as Jacoli'd Creek.
* " It Is a noticeable fnct," aays Veech, " that Was^liington, enfeehlerl
•y a confjnming fever, was so invigorated hy the sight of tlie scene of jtis
liscomfiture tlio previous year as to seize tlie opportunity of celebrating ,
ti first anniversary by hastening on to partake in an achievement
A'hich, as lie fondly hoped, ivoiild restore to his king and country nil
:hat had been lost by his failure." .
On the morning of the 9th of July the troops marcheil
to the Monongahela and crossed to the southwest
shore, moving thence on the left bank for about three
miles; then recrossed the river at Fra/.ier's, just be-
low the mouth of Turtle Creek. The crossing was
completed at about one o'clock in the afternoon, and
when the column reformed on the right bank of the
Monongahela, it was within three- fourths of a mile of
the i)lace where the French with their Indian allies
lay hidden along the slopes of the forest defile which,
ere the sun went down on that memorable day,
was to be reddened by the blood of the bravest, and
made historic for all time as " Braddock's field" of
disaster and defeat.
The bloody battle of the Monongahela has been too
often described to require repetition here. It resulted
in the utter defeat and rout of the English, and the
headlong flight of the survivors to the south side of
the river at the point where they had crossed. The
force which entered the forest defile was fourteen
hundred and sixty strong,' including oflicers and pri-
vates. Of this force four hundred and fifty-six were
killed and four hundred and twenty-one wounded,
making a total of eight hundred and seventy -seven ;
while only five hundred and eighty-three escaped
unhurt. Of eighty-nine commissioned oflicers, sixty-
three were killed or wounded, including- every officer
above the rank of captain except Colonel Washington,
(^f the captains, ten were killed and five wounded ; of
the lieutenants, fifteen killed and twenty-two wounded.
General Braddock had four horses shot under him,
and while mounting the fifth received the wound
which proved mortal. Washington had two horses
shot under him. Sir Peter Ilalket (next in command
to Braddock) was killed instantly. Secretary Shirley
was killed. Colonel Burton, Sir John Sinclair, and
Lieutenant-Colonel Gage were among the wounded,
also Brigade-Major Halket, Dr. Hugh Mercer,* Major
Sparks, and Captain Orme. Of the naval officers
present, Lieutenant Spendelow and Midshipman Tal-
bot were killed. A number of women and officers'
servants were also killed and scalped, though every
wagoner escaped. One hundred beeves were captured
by the enemy, also the general's papers (orders, in-
structions, and correspondence), and the military
chest, containing £2.5,000 in money, as well as all
Hied,
■c one. lie was left on the field with the c
nagei] to conceal himself behind a fallen
iiti-ocilies committed by the savages on the <
wounded men and on the dciiil. His phire
covered by the Indians, who soon left the field. When darkness camo
on Ire crept from the woods, crossed the Jlonoiigahcla, and after wnnilor-
int; in the woods fur ninny days wilh his wound undri*6ed, and nearly
faniiihed, he at last reached F..rt Cumberland iu safvty.
1/ &^^
44
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUiNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Washington's papers, including his notes referring to
the Fort Necessity campaign of the previous year.
Tlie journal of Captain Orme alone of all the military
papers was saved. All the artillery, ammunition,
baggage, and stores fell into the hands of the French
and Indians, and the dead and badly wounded were
left on the field to be scalped and tortured by the
savages, who, however, strangely enough, made little
show of pursuit.
Braddock, when he received his fatal wound, ex-
pressed a wish to be left to die on the field, and this
wish came near being gratified. Nearly all his panic-
stricken followers deserted him, but his aide-de-camp,
Orme, and Capt. Stewart, of the Virginia light-
horse, stood faithfully by him, and at the imminent
risk of their own lives succeeded in bearing him from
the woods and across the river. On reaching the
south side of the Monongahela the general, though I
suffering intense pain from his wound, gave orders
that the troops should be rallied and a stand made
at that place, but this was found impossible. A few
subordinate officers and less than one hundred sol-
diers were all who remained around him. Of this I
Capt. Orme's journal says, " We intended to have !
kept possession of that ground till we could have i
been reinforced. The general and some wounded i
officers remained there about an hour, till most of 1
the men ran off. From that place the general sent
Mr. Washington to Colonel Dunbar with orders to ,
send wagoners for the wounded, some provisions and
hospital stores, to be escorted by the two youngest i
grenadier companies, to meet him at Gist's planta-
tion, or nearer if possible. It was found imprac-
ticable to remain here, as the general and officers
were left almost alone; we therefore retreated in the |
best manner we were able. After we had passed the j
Monongahela the second time, we were joined by
Lieutenant-Colonel Gage, who had rallied near eighty ]
men. We marched all night and the next day, and
about ten o'clock that night we got to Gist's planta-
During the time when Gen. Braddock was ad-
vancing to the Monongahela, Col. Dunbar was toil-
ing slowly along with the rear division, the artillery,
and heavy stores. Leaving the Little Crossings soon
alter Braddock's departure, he came on by the same
route, passing the ruins of Fort Necessity on the 2d
of July, and a few days later reached the place which
has borne his name until the present time, and where
he then encamped his troops and trains. This his-
toric spot, known to this day as " Dunbar's Camp,"
is described by Veech as " situated southeast of the
summit of Wolf Hill, one of the highest points of
Laurel Hill Jlountain, and about three thousand feet
above the ocean-level. It is in full view of Union-
town, to the eastward, about six miles distant, and is
visible from nearly all the high points in Fayette and
the adjacent parts of Greene and Washington Coun-
ties. The camp was about three hundred feet below
the sunnnit, and at about half a mile distance, on the
southern slope. It was then cleared of its timber,
but is since much overgrown with bushes and small
trees. It is, however, easily found by the numerous
diggings in search of relics and treasure by the early
settlers, and others even in later times. Near it are
two fine sand springs, below which a dam of stones
and earth two or three feet high was made to aft'ord
an abundant supply of water." This camp' was the
end of Dunbar's outward march, for he there received
from the Monongahela battle-field the fearful tidings
which forbade all thoughts of a farther advance.
It was to this camp that " Mr. Washington" (as he
was designated by Orme, his title of colonel being
then only honorary, he holding no military rank
under Braddock) was ordered from the Lower Crossing
of the Monongahela to proceed with all possible speed,
and with peremptory orders'- to Col. Dunbar to send
wagons with supplies and hospital stores without
delay, as has already been noticed.'' He set out with
two private soldiers as an escort, and traveling with-
out halt through the long hours of the dark and rainy
night which succeeded the day of the battle (how or
where he crossed the Youghiogheny is not recorded),
came early in the morning of the 10th to the camp
of Col. Dunbar, who, as it appears, was greatly de-
moralized by the startling intellinence which he
brought. At about the middle of the forenoon sev-
eral of Braddock's Pennsylvania Dutch wagoners
(from the eastern counties) arrived at the camp, bring-
ing the dread news from the battle-field, and an-
nouncing themselves as the only survivors of the
bloody fight on the Monongahela. Nearly at the
same time arrived Sir John Siuclar and another
wounded officer, brought iu by their men in blankets.
Dunbar's camp was then a scene of the wildest
panic, as the rattle of the " long roll," beaten by his
drummers, reverberated among the crags of the Laurel
Hill. Each one, from the commander to the lowest
1 Col. Baril, who visited this place in 1759, wheu on his way to erect a
It un the present site of BrownBville, suid of Dunbar's camp tlmt it .
as "the \voi*st chosen piece of ground fur an encanipnient I ever
- It was known that there was ill feeling on the part of Dunliar to-
avds the conunander-in-cliief, anil it was tlierefore thought necessary
lof liisciinimuMil. "Tlioy tnivelfj," s;ij s .In I-. \ ; i ,i,
High unfrequented paths to avoid the Indians, w -i,i: !,i;,_ n
ise dnriirs tliedarknessof thefii-stniglit of tliLii . }.r... iv-
nsltr--- :t'i-l ':- t|".vii). a ..M Cove Run, a branch ul .^....i. ^ l;tu., \uilii
\ nfr' 1 ' I' inbar, they mistook the uoiseof theniovi-nici
Pill. I 11 I ! . ': I I iiilians, and ran with theheedlossnessof alaru
\ Till,- , . , ii ■!, but ouch wended his way cautiously an
I./, w : III. iii 11, upon emorging from the buslK
I til' ; ' I' i! I' I> ahead, his long-lost Indian, wh
;iN I : '' i I - II irrative of the journey of Gist an
Irili.i'i \^ I- ' ' I I II. M\ \ ' . h from Henry Seesou, to whom
BUADDOCKS KXPKDITION IN ITjj.
45
canip-ibllower, believed that tlie savages and the
ecarcely less dreaded French were near at hand and
would soon surround the camp.
True to their cowardly instincts, Dunbar's wagoners
and pack-horse drivers, like those who were with Brad-
dock on the Monongahela, and like many other3 of
the same base brood on a hundred later battle-fields,
•were the first to seek safety in iliglit, mounting the
best horses and hurrying away with all speed towards
Fort Cumberland/ leaving their places on the wagons
and with the pack-horse trains to be filled by brave
soldiers from the ranks. Their base example infected
the numerous camp-followers, who, as well as many of
those from whom better things might have been ex-
pected, tied towards the Great Crossings of the You-
' \ r V,- .by? nftrp tluir cownnlly flight from D»nl>ar'<i comi), several
i M i -Mi k.-n wagoners nppt'aml at Cailide, Iiiiiiging with
v> - uf tho disiiBler to Bradilock'd finny. ThL'iTupori
M -\ by tho Governor of IVnnsylvaniu at that plac*.
I I MiiMris taken and subscribed liefuru him iiru fuiind in the
r.iiri-yl\.iii);i Aivbivps. Two of lUeso dfpusitions (similar in tenor to
all the otlurs) aro here given, viz.:
Matihow Lainl being dniy sworn, deposed and said, —
"... That thid examinant continued witli Col. Dunbar. And on
the tentli of tliis instant Iho regiment being at about sovon miles be-
yond a place called tho Great Meadows at eleven o'clock of that day,
Iheio was » rumor in the camp that there was bad new^, and he was
K,.,ni irr.rinformed by ^^gonors and pack-lmrse drivers, who were then
1 lo Col. Dunbar's camp, but had gone out with tho advanced
1 I G<'n. Braddock, that tho general with tho advanced party
. iu>d by the French on the ninth instant about five mites
11.111 r -It DuQuesue, and about forty mih-s from wliere Col. Dunbar
then wai, at which engagement the wagoners and puck-horse drivers
said tliey were present; that the English were attacked as they were
guing up H hill hy a numerous bu-ly uf Frc-iich aii.l Indiiins, wliu k^pt
.« ' ■ ' ;niu;il fire during IhL* wli : , i^ i... ..: ^^ ■ .. ii ;,•!■; m .h
I i r-.; that most of tho In > ; ,
■■1 .'■ ■ !!' ly taken; that Geu<MMl r . : : '■,■-:.! ■ . — r i ■
il.iiki :, I iipt. Ormc, and most of Ml" "[ti' i- T,i -..-■■.. i;iii;j.ujt h;::', i-
saiili Uv saw a Wounded officer biunglit lliruiii;li tlio tamp on a bhect;
that about noon of the same day tliey bent to arms in Col. Dunbar's
others took to tlight iu spite of the opposition made by the centrys, who
forced some to return but many got away, amongst whom was tU'.s ex-
Futl'iwing is the deposition of Jacob Iluber:
"This fxaminant saiih that he was iu Col. Dunbar's camp the tenth
of July instant, and w;(S informed that two officers who had come from
Fort Cuinbcilanil.and hiiU proceeded early in tho morning with a party
of Imliatis Im j,,iii (.;,>it.'r;tl ltrii.ldi>i-k, returned to tho camp in about
tt 1. i I.I ir r rj|, i - • lit. K, I I t iini.iur spread that there was bad
I I ,1 I I 111 ' 1,1 I I, I I ,-. I,, thegenenil by reason of the
-IV n, 1 -j I,. ,\ , h -. vi !,,! ^^ T_, I, 1 ^ ^- )i . uerc couie Ittto Col. Dunbnv's ,
camp from Gvii. IJraddock's, and who informed this examinant that
Gen. Bniddock with his advanced party of fifteen hundred men had been
attacked on the ninth instant wiUiin five miles of Fort Du Quesne by a '
great many French and Indians who surrounded them ; that the action I
lasted three hours; that the most part of the English were killed; that
Ctu. Braddock was wounded and put into a wagon, and afterwards
killed by the Indians; that Sir Peter Halket and Capt. Orme were also ■
killeil. And this examinant further saitti that he saw some soldiers re-
turn into Col. Dunbar's camp, who he wasinformed had been of General
Bradduck's advanced parly, some of whom were wounded, some not ; also \
saw two officers carried ou sheets, one of whom wtu said to be Sir John
St Clair, whom the examinant was informed had received two wounds ; '
that about noon of the same day C^l. Dunbar's drums beat to arms; '
and both before and after that many soldiei-s and wagoners with other
attendants upon the camp took to flight, and amongst others this exam-
inant. And further saitb not.''
gliioglieny.aiul it w:is willi the greatest difficulty tliiit
Dunbar ])reveiiteil the ilesertiou aiul fliglit from bc-
coiuiiig general.
At tea o'clock in the evening of the same day
(Thursday, July lOlh), Gen. Braddock reached Gist's.
From the place where he fell he was brought away
on a tumbril. Afterwards the attempt was made to
move him on horseback, but this he could endure only
fur a short time, after which he was dismounted and
carried all the remaining distance by a few of his
men. The weary journey was continued with scarcely
a halt during all the night succeeding the battle and
all the following day. Through all the sad hours of
that long march the gallant Captain Orme (himself
suffering from a painful wound) and the no less brave
and steadfast Virginia cavalry captain, Stewart, were
constantly by the side of their helpless commander,
never leaving him a moment.
The mortally wounded general must have been suf-
fering intense agony of mind as well as of body, but
through it all, like the brave and faithful officer that
he was, he never forgot that there were other maimed
and suffering ones who sorely needed aid. " Despite
the intensity of his agonies," says Sargent, " Brad-
dock still persisted in the exercise of his authority
and the fulfillment of liis duties." On reaching
Gist's he found that no provisions, stores, nor surgical
aid had arrived there in obedience to the command
sent by Washington to Col. Dunbar, and thereupon he
sent still more peremptory orders to that officer to
forward them instantly, with the two only remain-
ing companies of the Forty-fourth and Forty-eighth
Regiments, to assist in bringing oft' the wounded.
The wagons arrived on the morning of Friday, the
Uth, and a party was then immediately sent back
towards the Monongahela to rescue such of the
wounded as could be found, and with a supply of
provisions to be left along the road for the benefit of
those who might be missed and come up afterwards.
Of the movements of the general and his party on
that day, Capt. Orme's journal has the following
entry :
" Gist's plantation.
"July 11. — Some wagons, provisions, and hospital
stores arrived. As soon as the wounded were dressed,
and the men had refreshed themselves, we retreated
to Col. Dunbar's camp, which was near Rock Fort.
The general sent a sergeant's party back with provis-
ions to be left on the road, on the other side of the
Yo-vhio Geni, for the refreshment of any men who
might have lost their way in the woods. Upon our
arrival at Colonel Dunbar's camp we found it in the
greatest confusion. Some of his men had gone off
upon hearing of our defeat, and the rest seemed to
have forgot all discipline. Several of our detach-
ments had not stopped till they had reached the
camp. It was found necessary to clear some of the
wagons for the wounded, many of whom were in a
desperate situation ; and as it was impossible to re-
4G
HISTORY OP FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
move the stores, thehowitzer shells, some twelve-pound
shot, powder, and provisions were destroyed or buried."
The terror and consternation at Dunbar's camp
had been constantly on the increase from the time
wlien the first of the frightened wagoners had gal-
loped in with the alarming news on the morning of
the 10th. Through all that day and the following
night terrified fugitives from the field, many of them
wounded, were continually pouring in, each telling a
fearful tale of rout and massacre, and all uniting in
the assertion that the French and savages in over-
whelming force were following close in the rear.
This latter statement was wholly false, for the enemy
liad made no attempt at pursuit from the shores of
the Monongahela; but the tale was believed, and its
effect was an uncontrollable panic at the camp.
On the arrival of Capt. Stewart with his escort,
bearing the wounded general, a decision was at once
arrived at to retreat without delay to Fort Cumber-
land, destroying everything which could not be car-
ried. It was a strange proceeding, and one which
must now appear cowardly, for an army of fully a
thousand men, many of them veteran soldiers, with
sufficient artillery and an abundance of ammunition,
to abandon a mountain position which might soon
and easily have been rendered impregnable, and to
tly before the imaginary pursuit by an enemy which
was greatly inferior in numbers, and bad already re-
tired in the opposite direction. But if the retreat was
to be made, then it wiis necessary to destroy nearly
everything except a meagre supply of provisions, for
tliere was barely tran.sportation enough for the sick
and wounded, who numbered more than three hun-
dred. There were more than enough wagons to carry
everything, but the number of horses was small, many
of the best having been ridden away by the frightened
wagoners and other fugitives, and most of those sent
forward with the trains of the advance column having
been captured by the enemy on the day of the battle.
Tlie work of destruction and preparation for retreat
were commenced immediately, and completed on the
12th. The howitzers and every other artillery piece
except two were bursted, as were also a great part of
the shell. Some of the shells and nearly all the solid
shot were buried. A great number of wagons (having
no horses to draw them) were burned. Only a small
part of the provisions was saved for the march, most
n{ them being destroyed by burning, or thrown into
the little pond of water that had been formed by dam-
ming the spring a short distance below the camp.
The powder-casks were opened, and their contents-
stated at fifty thousand pounds of powder — thrown
into the pool.' Of all the immense quantity of ma-
1 " Old Henry Beeson, the proprietor of Uniontown, used to relate tliat
vlien lie Jirst visited these locjilities. in 1767, there were some six inches
if black nitrons matter visihle all over this spring basiu."— Fcec;!.
Tlie inference was that the "nitrous matter" referred to came from
he great quantity of powder thrown into the water by Col. Dunbar's
urn, which may have Icon the fact.
terial and stores which had with such great expense
and labor been transported across the Alleghenies,
and to the top of Laurel Hill, there was only saved
the least amount that could possibly meet the neces-
sities of the retreat to Cumberland.
It has been generally believed that the artillery
pieces were not bursted, but buried at Dunbar's camp,
as well as a great deal of other property. Stories
were told, too, that a large amount oi money was buried
there by Dunbar on the eve of his retreat; and in
later years numerous diggings were made there in the
hope of finding the treasure. Of course all such at-
tempts have proved as fruitless as they were foolish.
As to the statement concerning the burial of the can-
non, it was indorsed by and perhaps originated with
Col. Burd;- but it was disproved by a letter dated
Aug. 21, 1755, addressed to Governor Shirley by Col.
Dunbar, and indorsed by his officers, in which they
said, " We must beg leave to undeceive you in what
you are pleased to mention of guns being buried at
the time Gen. Braddoek ordered the stores to be de-
stroyed, for there was not a gun of any kind buried.''
The question, who was responsible for the disgrace-
ful retreat from Dunbar's camp, and the destruction
of the stores and war material at that place, has gen-
erally received an answer laying the blame on Dun-
bar himself; and this appears to be just, though in
his letter, above quoted, he mentions the order for the
destruction as having been given by Braddoek. It is
true that the orders were still issued in his name, but
the hand of death was already upon him, and he was
irresponsible. The command really lay with Col.
Dunbar, had he been disposed to take it, as he un-
doubtedly would readily have done had it not hap-
pened that the so-called orders of Braddoek were in
this instance (and for the first time in all the cam-
paign) in accordance with his wishes.
In regard to the issuance of these orders by the
dying commander, and Dunbar's very ready and
willing obedience to them, Sargent — who, however,
almost contradicts himself in the first and last parts
of the extract given below — says, " Braddock's
strength was now fast ebbing away. Informed of the
disorganized condition of the remaining troops, he
abandoned all hope of a prosperous termination to the
expedition. He saw that not only death but utter
defeat was inevitable. But, conscious of the odium
the latter event would excite, he nobly resolved that
the sole responsibility of the measure should rest with
himself, and consulted with no one upon the .steps he
pursued. He merely issued his orders, and insisted
that they were obeyed. Thus, after destroying the
= On the lltli of September, 1759, Col. Burd visited Dunbar's cam]
and concerning this visit his journal says, " From here we marched I
Dunbar's camp. . . . Here we saw vast .inantities of cannon-ball, mm
BRADDOCKS EXPEDITION IN 1755.
47
stores to prevent their fiilliiig into the Imnds of the
enemy (of whose jnirsuit he did not doubt), the march
was to be resumed on Saturday, the 12th of July, to-
wards Wills' Creek. Ill judged as these orders were,
they met with too ready acquiescence at tlie hands of
Dunbar, whose advice was neither asked nor tendered
on the occasion. . . . For this service — the only in-
stance of alacrity that he displayed in the cam|)aign —
Dunbar must not be forgiven. It is not perjevllij clear
that Braildock intelligentlij ever (/are the orders, but in
any case they were not fit for a British officer to give
or to obey. Dunbar's duty was to have maintained
here his position, or at least not have contemplated
falling back beyond Wills' Creek. That lie had not
horses to remove his stores was, however, his aftcr-
cxcusc."
The destruction of the guns, aiiiiiiiiiiitidn, and
stores was finished at Dunbar's camp on the ll'lh of
July, and on the morning of Sunday, the 13th, the
retreating troops, composed of Dunbar's command
and the remnant of the force that fought on the
Monongahela, moved away on the road to the Great
Crossings of the Youghiogheny. They took with
theni the only artillery pieces that were left (two six-
lHiun<lers), a small quantity of provisions and lios-
pital stores, and the remaining wagons, nearly all of
which were laden with the sick and wounded. The
commander-in-chief, now rapidly approaching his
end, was borne along with the column. The entry
for this day in Capt. Orme's journal re.ads: "July
18lh. — We marched hence to the camp near the Great
Meadows, where the general died."
The place where Dunbar's troops bivouacked after
this day's march was known as the Old Orchard i
Camp, about two miles west of Fort Necessity, and '
there, at eight o'clock on that midsummer Sunday
night, General Braddock breathed his last. He had
spoken very little after the time when he was brought
from the fatal field. It is related that on the first [
night he repeated, as if soliloquizing, "Who would
have thought it I who would have thought it!" and
after that wjis silent' until the fourth day, when he
said to Capt. Orme, " We shall better know how to
deal with them another time." He spoke no more, |
and soon after expired, Captain Stewart, of the light- i
horse, having never left him from the time he re- !
ceived his wound until after his death. Washington
and Orme were also with him at the last moment, and
it is said (by Sargent) that shortly before his death
the general bequeathed to Washington- his favorite 1
' Tills conflicts strongly with Sargent's statement that at Dunbar's
CHmp lie " issiicil his orders and insisted that they were obeyed." |
- Notwithstanding the Diany absurd accounts which have been given |
of the disagreements which occurred between Braddock and Washing- i
ton, and of the iusoleiit and contemptuous mauucr in which the latter {
vas ti eated by his chief, all evidence that is found tends to show that |
there existed between the two a friendship such as is very rarely known
hb between a commanding general and a mere youth serving under
him without military rank, for in this campaign Washington held none,
and was consequently never aduiitteJ to Braddock's councils of war.
He was l-y the Diiti^h otBccrs below Braddock contemptuously styled
charger and his body-servant, Bisho]>, so well known
in after-years as the faithful attendant of the [latridt
chief.
On the morning of the 14th of July the dead gen-
eral was buried at the camp where he died, and the
artillery pieces, tlie wagon-train, and the soldiers,
moving out to take the road to Wills' Creek, jiassed
over the spot, to obliterate all traces of the new grave,
and thus to save it from desecration by the savages,
who were expected soon to follow in pursuit. The
wagons containing the sick and wounded took the
lead, then came the others with the hospital stores
and the meagre stock of provisions, then the advance
of the infantry column, then the ammunition and
guns, and finally the two veteran companies of the
Forty-fourth and Forty-eighth British regular regi-
ments, with Stewart's Virginia light-horse as a guard
to the rear and flanks. In the evening of the same
day the Youghiogheny River was cro.sscd by the last
men of the force, and the rear-guard bivouacked for
the night on the eastern side of the stream.
It seems that the progress made on the retreat wjis
very rapid, for, although Braddock's road was rough
and in many places barely passable, the head of the
wagon-train bearing the wounded and sick arrived at
Cumberland on the 17th, and three days later the last
of Dunbar's soldiers reached the fort and lighted
their bivouac fires within the range of its guns.
The expedition of Braddock, from which such
brilliant results had been expected, had proved a
dismal and bloody failure. The objective point (Fort
du Qucsne) was still held by the French, who, with
their Indian allies, soon extended their domination
over the country lying to the southeast. Gaining
courage from their victory, they came to Dunbar's
camp a week or two after his forces had left it, and
there completed the little work of destruction which
he had left undone. Within two months they had
"Mr. 'Washington," for they disliked him, principally because of the
cousidernlion shown him by Braddock, and partly because he was
merely a "Virginio bucksUin," which latter fact made Braddock's
friendship for liim alt the more galling to them. In later years Presi-
dent Wnshington, in speaking to the Hon. William Fiuley (see Xikf'
Ite'jUlcr, xiv., p. 170) of Braddock. said, "Ho was unfortunate, but his
chavarter was much loo severely treated. He was one of the honestest
and best men of the British officera with whom I was acquainted ; even
ill the manner of fighting he Wits not nirjre to blame than others, for of
all that were consulted ojily .n. i t^ u • |. i- I t.. it. . . . Braddock
was both my general and my |ili\ ,. i 1,1, i::,.lii,_ ni the latter remark
>tliet
r the Lit
Meadows on tbpoutwiird niarrli, ^.n v Iji, i :(-i .ii Braddock gave his
personal attention to the case, leaving Washington with a sergeant to
take care of him, with medicine and directions (given by himself) of
how to take it, also with instructions to come on and rejoin him (the
general) whenever he should find himself able to do so.
As to the accounts, with which all are familiiir, of Washington as-
suming command after the fall of Braddock, and saving the remnant of
the force from destruction, its utter absurdity is made apparent by the
extracts which have been given from Capt. Orme's journal. Wushingtoii
exercised no command on that campaign, and the only circumstance
which can give any color to the story is that some of the Virginian.'*,
knowing him as an officer in the militia of that colony, were disjiosed in
the contusiou of the battle to follow him in preference to tli< Ihilish
officers, who desidscd their method of backwoods fighting.
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
advanced eastward to the Alleghenies and made in-
cursions beyond tliat range. There was not left west
of the mountains in this region a single settler or
trader other than those who were favorable to the
French and their interests. And this state of things
continued in the country west of the Alleghenies for
more than three years from the time of Braddock's
defeat on the Monongahela.
The precise spot where Gen. Braddock was buried
lias never been certainly known. Col. Burd, who
visited it in 1759, when on his way to erect Fort Burd,
on the Monongahela, said it was about two miles
from Fort Necessity, and " about twenty yards from
a little hollow, in which there was a small stream of
w.'xter, and over it a bridge." Gen. Washington said
that it had been his purpose to return to the spot and
erect a monument to his memory, but that he had no
opportunity to do so until after the Revolution, and
then, after the most diligent search, he found it im-
possible to recognize the spot where the general was
buried on account of the change in the road and the
extension of the clearing.
In 1812 a party of men who were engaged in pre-
paring the road under direction of Abraham Stewart
I father of the Hon. Andrew Stewart), dug out, near
the bank of the small stream known as Braddock's
Hun, the bones of a human skeleton, and with them
some military trappings ; from which latter circum-
stance the bones were supposed to be those of Brad-
dock, — and it is not improbable that they were so,
though there is no proof that such was the case.
Some of the larger bones were taken away by the
people of the vicinity as relics, but these were after-
Avards collected by Mr. Stewart,^ and they as well as
the others were reinterred about 1820, at the spot
which has since been known as " Braddock's Grave,"
and which was so marked by the words cut or painted
cm a board which was nailed to a tree over the place
of reinterment. This tree has since been cut down,
the grave inclosed, and evergreen trees planted over
it. The spot is in Wharton township, a few rods
north of the National road, southe.ist of the Chalk
Hill hotel, and northwest of Fort Necessity.
For nearly a century it has been believed by many
that the shot which took the life of Gen. Braddock
was fired by one Thomas Fossit, who afterwards be-
came a resident in Fayette County. This Fossit, it
appears, always wished to have people believe that it
was a bullet from his gun that gave the mortal wound
to the brave Braddock ; and many — perhaps a ma-
jority — of the people of this section of country did
for many years believe that such was the case. The
writer of this believes that Fossit's story (whether by
this is meant that which he implied by significant
1 It has lieen sni.l in »
silence, or that which he at other times triumphantly
asserted) is false. He believes this case to be similar
to several of which he had personal knowledge in the
late civil war, where private soldiers (always of the
worthless class), bearing ill will against officers who
had administered deserved punishment to them, made
mysterious muttered threats of biding their time till
the next engagement; and after the objects of their
hatred had fallen in the front of battle, could not re-
frain from expressing satisfaction, and in a boasting
way saying enough to have hanged them, if it had not
been susceptible of proof that they themselves were,
during the battle, skulking so far in the rear of the
line of fire that they could not have reached their pre-
tended victim with any weapon of less calibre than a
ten-pounder Parrott gun. This, however, is but a mere
opinion, and therefore entitled to no weight on the
page of history. Opposed to it — as has already been
said — are the opinions of a large proportion of the
people who have lived in Fayette County during the
past ninety-eight years. Under these circumstances
the only course which can properly be pursued by
the historian is to give, without comment, the several
principal statements which have been made in the
case. One of these ^ is as follows :
" There has long existed a tradition in this region
that Braddock was killed by one of his own men, and
more recent developments leave little or no doubt of
the fact. A recent [1843] writer in the A'ai(o;ia/ Iiitd-
Ugencer, w^hose authority is good on such points, says,
' When my father was removing with his family to
the West, one of the Fausetts kept a public-house to
the eastward from and near where Uniontown now
stands as the county-seat of Fayette County, Pa. This
man's house we lodged in about the 10th of October,
1781, twenty-six years and a few months after Brad-
dock's defeat; and there it was made anything but a
secret that one of the family dealt the death-blow to
the British general. Thirteen years afterwards I
Thomas Fausett in Fayette County, then, as he fold
me, in bis seventieth year. To him I put the plain
question, and received the plain reply, " I did shoot
him !" He then went on to insist that by doing so
he contributed to save what was left of the army. In
brief, in my youth I never heard the fact doubted or
blamed that Fausett shot Braddock.'
" The Hon. Andrew Stewart, of Uniontown, says
he knew and often conversed with Tom Fausett, \
did not hesitate to avow, in the presence of his friends,
that he shot General Braddock. Fausett was a mar
of gigantic frame, of uncivilized, half-savage propensi-
ties, and spent most of his life among the mountains
as a hermit, living on the game which he killed. He
would occasionally come into town and get drunk.
Sometimes he would repel inquiries into the affair of
Braddock's death by putting his fingers to his lips
• Historical Sketches of the Slate of
CAPTURE OF rORT DU QUESNE.
49
1111(1 uttering a sort of buzzing sound ; at otiiers lie
would liurst into tears, and appear greatly agitated by
conllifting passions.
" In spite of Braddock's silly order that the troops
should not protect themselves behind trees, Joseph
Fausett had taken such a position, when Uraddock
rode up in a passion and struck him down with his
swiinl. Toni Fausett, who was but a short distance
from his brother, saw the whole transaction, and im-
mediately drew up his rifle and shot Braddock through
the lungs, partly in revenge for the outrage upon his
brother, and partly, as he always alleged, to get the
general out of the way, and thus save the remainder
of the gallant band, who had been sacrificed to his
obstinacy and want of experience in frontier warfare."
But among all the authorities on the subject, prob-
ably the one which is entitled to the most considera-
tion is that of Veech's " Monongahela of Old," in
wliifli occurs the following in reference to the killing
of Braddock :
"For at least three-quarters of a century the cur-
rent-belief has been that he was shot by one Thomas
Fossit, an old resident of Fayette County. The story
is therefore entitled to our notice. Mr. Sargent, in
his interesting ' History of Braddock's Campaign,'
devotes several pages to a collation of evidence upon
the question, and arrives very logically from the evi-
dence at the conclusion that the story is false; got up
by Fossit and others to hcroize him at a time when
it was popular to have killed a Britisher. . . .
" I' knew Thomas Fossit well. He was a tall, ath-
letic man, indicating by his physiognomy and de-
meanor a susceptibility of impetuous rage and a
disregard of moral restraints. He was, moreover,
in his later years somewhat intemperate. When Fa-
yette County was erected in 1783 he was found living
on the top of Laurel Hill, at the junction of Brad-
dock's and Dunlap's roads, near Washington's Spring,
claiming to have there by settlement a hundred acres
of land, which by deed dated in April, 1788, he con-
veyed to one Isaac Phillips. For many years he
kept a kind of tavern or resting-place for emigrants
and pack-horsemen, and afterwards for teamsters, at
the place long known as Slack's, later Robert Mc-
Dowell's. His mental abilities by no means equaled
his bodily powers; and, like a true man of the woods,
he often wearied the traveler with tales about bears,
deer, and rattlesnakes, lead-mines and Indians. I
had many conversations with him about his adven-
tures. He said he saw Braddock fall, knew who shot
him, knew all about it ; but would never acknowl-
edge to me that he aimed the deadly shot. To others,
it is said, he did, and boasted of it. . . . The last
time I saw him was in October, 1816. He was then
a pauper at Thomas Mitchell's, in Wharton township.
He said he was then one hundred and four years old,
and perhaps he was. He was gathering in his to-
bacco. I stayed at Mitchell's two days, and Fossit
and I had much talk about old times, the battle, and
the route the army traveled. He stated the facts
generally as he had dt)ne before. He insisted that
the bones found by Abraham Stewart, Esq., were not
the bones of Braddock, but of a Colonel Jones ; that
Braddock and Sir Feter Halkct were both buried
in one grave In the camp, and that if he could walk to
the jilaco he thought he could point it out so exactly
— near a forked apple-tree — that by digging the bones
could yet be found. There arc parts of this story
wholly irreconcilable with well-ascertained facts.
There was no Col. Jones in Braddock's army. Sir
Peter Ilalket and his son. Lieutenant Halkct, were
killed and left on the field of battle. Braddock did
not die at Dunbar's camp, but at the first camp east-
ward of it, and it is nowhere said that Braddock was
buried in the camp. . . .
"Nevertheless the foct may be that Fossit shot him.
There is nothing in the facts of the case as they oc-
curred on the ground to contradict it ; nay, they rather
corroborate it. Braddock was shot on the battle-field
by somebody. Fossit was a provincial private in the
action. There was generally a bad state of feeling
between the general and the provincial recruits, owing
chiefly to his obstinate opposition to tree-fighting,
and to his infuriate resistance to the determined in-
clination of the backwoodsmen to fight in that way,
to which they were countenanced by the opinion of
Washington and Sir Peter Halket. Another fact is
that much of the havoc ofthe English troops was caused
by the firing of their own men wherever they saw a
smoke. But Braddock raised no smoke, and when he
was shot a retreat had been sounded. If, therefore,
Fossit did shoot him he must have done it purposely.
And it is said he did so in revenge for the killing of a
brother for persisting in firing from behind a tree.
This is sustained by the fact that Tom had a brother
Joseph in the action who was killed. All these cir-
cumstances, with many others, seem to sustain the
allegation. Against it are the inconsistencies and
falsities of other parts of the testimony of the wit-
nesses adduced, and even of Fossit's own narrations."
Fossit died in 1818, a pauper in the township of
Wharton. He was at the time of his death about one
hundred and six years old, according to his own
statement.
'Mi.iK.ngnlulaofOld.'
CHAPTER VIL
CAPTURE OF FORT DU QUE.^XE— ERECTION' OF
FORT BURD.
FliOM July, 17or>, when the French succeeded in
expelling the English forces from the region of
country west of the Alleghenies, the former held ali-
solute possession of that territory for more than three
vears, as has alreadv been mentioned. Xot long after
HISTORY OF- FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
tlieir victory on the Monongaliela tliey reduced their
force at Fort du Qiiesne, sending a part of it to Ve-
nango and other northern posts, and their Indian
allies, or a great part of them, scattered and returned
to their homes, being in a state of discontent and in-
cipient disaftection, though still holding to their
French allegiance.
At Fort du Quesne the French captain, Contre-
co'ur, remained in command till the early part of
1757. In that year, and not long after Contrecceur's
supersedure, the commandant at Fort Cumberland
sent out a small party ( probably the fir.st which crossed
the mountains from the east after Braddock's defeat)
to penetrate as nearly as practicable to the Forks of
the Ohio, and reconnoitre the country in the vicinity
of the French fort.' It was composed of five soldiers
from Fort Cumberland and fifteen Cherokee Indians,
all under command of Lieutenant Baker. They ad-
vanced to a point on the head-waters of Turtle Creek,
about twenty miles from the fort, where they fell in
with a French party of three officers and seven men.
In the fight which followed they killed five of the
French and took one (anofiicer) prisoner. They then
made their way back through what is now Fayette |
County, and arrived in safety at Fort Cumberland
with their prisoner and with the information that the
French fort was in command of Capt. de Ligneris, \
who had under him at that place a force of about six
hundred French troops and two hundred Indians.
In 1758 the English ministry planned and sent for- i
ward an expedition much more formidable than that j
placed under Braddock, three years before, for the
capture of Fort du Quesne. The command of this
new expedition was given to General John Forbes.
His force (of which the rendezvous was appointed at
Kaystown, now Bedford, Pa.) was composed of three
hundred and fifty Royal American troops, twelve
hundred Scotch Highlanders, sixteen hundred Vir-
ginians, and two thousand seven hundred Pennsyl-
vania provincials,— a total of five thousand eight hun-
dred and fifty effective men, besides one thousand
wagoners. The Virginia troops were comprised in
two regiments, commanded respectively by Col.
George Washington and Col. James Burd, but both
under the superior command of Washington as acting
brigadier. Under him, in command of one of the
' An anecdote of anollior .'niiiU reeounoilring-imrly tliat mas sent to-
waiils F.jit Jii ijucsniMi short timu nfti-rwarfls isfoiiiirt in Sparks (ii.28;i),
in one Ml \v.,,lir,.i .1 - 1. !t. rsdaleil May, 17.i8,as loll')«s : " An Indian
naincil I . ih.li x, i. ur ii..mKort London [Va,] witli a party of six
soldiers .,,.1 ,1 ,ii> In , nndiTcninnmnd of I-icntennnt Gist. After
great faliiiiu-» l-n: , i , . mi-i, ,,. ,n.v tin- -II. -«-,.,, t!,.- Alleglieny
Mountains, tliey I ■ ', ^! i ■>!,,, t : ; !.■ nn.iitli of Red-
btonej, wlicrc I.ini.i I , xMis rendered
Indii
Virginia companies, was Capt. William Crawford, af-
terwards for many years a resident of Fayette County,
at Stewart's Crossings. Gen. Forbes arrived at Rays-
town about the middle of September, but Col. Henry
Bouquet had previously (in August) been ordered for-
ward with an advanced column of two thousand men
to the Loyalhanna to cut out roads. The main body,
with Washington in advance, moved forward from
Raystown in October. In the mean time Bouquet
(perhaps thinking he could capture the fort with his i
advance division, before the arrival of the main body, I
and thus secure the principal honor) sent forward a ,
reconnoissance in force, consisting of eight hundreil
men (mostly Highlanders) under Maj. WtUintn-Grant.
This force reached a point in the vicinity of the fort.-
where, on the 14tli of September, it was attacked by
a body of about seven hundred French and a large
number of savages, under command of a French ofli-
cer named Aubry. Here Grant was defeated with
much slaughter, the Indians committing terrible
atrocities on the dead and wounded Highlanders.
The French and Indians then advanced against Bou-
quet, and attacked his intrenched position at Fort
Ligonier, but were finally (though with great diffi-
culty) repulsed on the 12th of October, and forced to
retreat to their fort.
Gen. Forbes with the main body of his army ar-
rived at Loyalhanna early in November. A council
of war was held, at which it was decided that on ac-
count of the lateness of the season and approach of
winter (the ground being already covered with snow)
it was "unadvisable, if not impracticable, to prosecute
the campaign any further till the next season, and
that a winter encampment among the mountains or
a retreat to the frontier settlements was the only al-
ternative that remained." Bui immediately after-
wards a scouting-party brought in some prisoners,
from whom it was learned that the garrison of Fort
du Quesne was weak, and the Indian allies of the
French considerably disaffected. Thereupon the de-
cision of the council of war was reversed, and orders
at once issued to move on to the assault of the fort.
The march was commenced immediately, the troops
taking with them no tents or heavy baggage, and only
a few pieces of light artillery. Washington with his
command led the advance. When within about twelve
miles of the fort word was brought to Forbes that it
was being evacuated by the French, but he remem-
bered the lesson taught by Braddock's rashness, and
treatedthereport with suspicion, continuing the march
with the greatest caution, and withholding from the
troops the intelligence he had received. On the 25th
of November, when they were marching with the
provincials in front, they drew near the fort and came
to a place where a great. number of stakes had been
- Tbis fight tooli place at "Grant's IliM," in the present city of Pitls-
Lurgli. The total loss of the English was ST.'J killed and 43 wonnded
more than one-lhird of Gianfs entire force. The commander and Major
Lewis werj tiiUen jirisoiieii? hy the French and Indians.
ERECTION OF FORT BURD.
51
planted, and on these were hanging the kilts of High-
landers slain on that spot in Grant's defeat two months
before. When Forbes' Highlanders saw this they be-
came infuriated with rage and rushed on, reckless of
consequences and regardless of discipline in their
eagerness to take blooily vengeance on the slayers of
their countrymen. They were bent on the extermina-
tion of their foes and swore to give no quarter, but soon
after, on arriving within sight of the fort, it was found
to be indeed evacuated and in Hames, and the last of
the boats in which its garrison had embarked were
seen in the distance passing Smoky Island on their
way down the Ohio.
The fort was found to have been mined, but either
the enemy had left in too much haste to fire the train
or the fuse had become extinguished. The troops at
once marched up to take possession, Wasliington
witli his command being the first on the ground. On
tlie following day he wrote to the Governor of Vir-
ginia a report of the evacuation and capture of the
post as follows :
"Camp at Fort dc Qit.s\e,
" To Gov. F.vnjriER :
".Sir, — I have the pleasure to inform you that Fort
Du t^nesne, or the ground rather on which it stood,
was |)o.ssessed by his Majesty's troops on the 2uth in-
stant. The enemy, after letting us get within a day's
march of the place, burned the fort and ran away by the
light of it, at night going down the Ohio by water to
the number of about five hundred men, according to
our best information. This possession of the fort has
been matter of surprise to the whole army, and we
cannot attribute it to more probable causes than the
weakness of the enemy, want of provisions, and the
defection of the Indians. Of these circumstances we
were luckily informed by three prisoners who provi-
dentially fell into our hands at Loyal Hanna, when
we despaired of proceeding farther. A council of
war had determined that it was not advisable to ad-
vance this season beyond that place ; but the above
information caused us to march on without tents or
baggage, and with only a light train of artillery.
We have thus happily succeeded. It would be tedious
and I think unnecessary to relate every trivial cir-
cumstance that has happened since my last. . . .
This fortunate and indeed unexijected success of our
arms will be attended with happy effects. The Dela-
Wares are sueing for peace, and I doubt not that other
tribes on the Ohio are following their example. A
trade free, open, and on equitable terms is what they
seem much to desire, and I do not know so effectual
a way of riveting them to our interest as by send-
ing out goods immediately to this place for that pur-
pose. . . ."
Thus, after repeated attempts, each ending in blood
and disaster, the English standard was firmly planted
at the head of the Ohio, and the French power here
overthrown forever. On the ruins of Fort du Quesue
another work was constructed— a weak and hastily-
built stockade with a shallow ditch — and named
" Fort Pitt," in honor of William I'itt, Earl Chatham.
Two hundred men of Washington's command were
left to garrison it, and the main army marched east.
Gen. Forbes returned to Philadelphia, and died there
in March, 1759.
The new Fort Pitt was commenced in August,
1759, and completed during the fall of that year by a
force under command of Gen. Stanwix.
When the English had finally expelled the French,
and obtained possession of the country at the head
of the Ohio, in 1758, and had built and garrisoned the
first Fort Pitt at that place, one of the first objects to
be accomplished was the establishment of a route for
transportation from the East, with defensive works
and bases of supply at intermediate points. Under
this necessity the route was adopted from Fort Cum-
berland to the Monongahela at or near the mouth of
Redstone Creek, and thence down the river by water-
carriage to Fort Pitt, this being identical with the
route contemplated by the Ohio Company nearly five
years earlier, when Cajjt. William Trent had been
sent to build a fort for them at the forks of the Ohio.
In pursuance of this military plan, in the latter
part of the summer of 1759, Col. Henry Bouquet, mil-
itary commandant at Carlisle, Pa., ordered Col. James
Burd to inspect the defenses and stores at Fort Cum-
berland ; thence to march to the Monongahela, there
to erect a fort and base of supply at a point proper
and convenient for embarkation on the river. The
substance of Col. Burd's orders, and his procedure
under them, are explained in a journal kept by him at
the lime, which is found in the Pennsylvania Archives,
and from which the following entries are extracted,
" Ordered in August, 1759, to march with two hun-
dred men of my battalion to the mouth of Redstone
Creek, where it empties itself into the river Monon-
gahela, to cut a road somewhere from Gen. Braddock's
road to that place, as I shall judge best, and on
my arrival there to erect a fort in order to open a
communication by th,e river Monongahela to Pitts-
burgh, for the more easy transportation of provisions,
etc., from the provinces of Virginia and Maryland.
Sent forward the detachment under the command of
Lieut.-Ool. Shippen, leaving one officer and thirty
men to bring our five wagons. . . . When I have cut
the road and finished the fort I am to leave one offi-
cer and twenty-five men as a garrison, and march
with the remainder of my battalion to Pittsburgh. . . .
"10th Sept.— Saw Col. Washington's fort, which
was called Fort Necessity. It is a small circular
stockade, with a small house in the centre; on the
outside there is a small ditch goes round it about eight
yards from the stockade. It is situate in a narrow
part of the meadows, commanded by three points of
woods. There is a small run of water just by it. We
saw two iron swivels.
52
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
"11th Sejit. — Marched this morning; two miles
from hence we found Gen. Braddock's grave, about
twenty yards from a little hollow, in which there was
a small stream of water, and over it a bridge. We soon
got to Laurel Hill ; it had an easy ascent on this side,
but on the other very steep. At the foot of the hill
we found the path that went to Dunlap's place, that
Col. Shippen and Capt. Gordon traveled last winter,
and about a quarter of a mile from this we saw the
big rock, so called. From hence we marched to Dun-
bar's camp, — miles, which is situated in a stony hol-
low [here follows the description of the camp, and
their search for buried guns, etc., as before quoted].
We continued our march, and got to Guest's place;
here are found a fine country.
" 13th Sept. — Determined, if the hunters .should
not return before noon, to begin to open the road along
some old blazes, which we take to be Col. Washing-
ton's.' At noon began to cut the road to Eedstone ;
began a quarter of a mile from camp ; the course
N. N. W. The course of Gen. Braddock's road
X. X. E., and turns much to y" eastward. Opened
this afternoon about half a mile. Marked two trees
at the place of beginning thus:
" ' The road to Rechtonc, Col. J. Burd, 1759.
" ' The road to Pittsburg, 1759.'
" 22d Oct.— This morning I went to the river Mo-
nongahela, reconnoitred Eedstone, etc., and concluded
upon the place for the post, being a hill in the fork of
the river Monongahela and Nemocalling's Creek, -
the best situation I could find, and returned in the
evening to camp. The camp moved two miles, to
Coal Run. This run is entirely paved in the bottom
with fine stone-coal, and the hill on the south of it is
a rock of the finest coal I ever saw. I burned about
a bushel of it on my fire.
"23d Oct. — Continued working on the road. Had
sermon to-day at 10 a.m. At noon moved the camp
two and a half miles to the river Monongahela. No
bateaux arrived.
" 2Sth Oct. — Sunday. Continued on the works ;
had sermon in the fort."
The last entry in the journal is the following:
"4th Nov. — Sunday. Snowed to-day. No work.
Sermon in the fort. Doctor Allison sets out for Phila-
From the extracts given above from Burd's journal
we gain a tolerably clear'idea of the manner in which
he conducted the expedition and built the fort at the
mouth of Dunlap's Creek on the Monongahela, viz.:
After concluding his inspection at Fort Cumberland,
and having previously sent forward a small detach-
ment under his chief engineer officer, Lieut.-Col. Ship-
pen, he set out with the remainder of his force (leav-
1 Meaning the track wliicti \mi~ i ,1 il.i^h . 1,1 . m 1 \ 1 ,1 i- r,.v\ i- .ui-I
Poison for a distance of about iil , 1 ,1; , ; ir
= Thecreck at tlicmontli ..I »!i !, ■,,, : n,, in.i,,,, \. 1,, m h t,, ili..
same afterwards known ag Diiut ip's < 'iLnk.
ing his little wagon-train to follow) and passed over
the same route taken by Braddock three years before,
to and across the Youghiogheny at the Great Cross-
ings ; thence to Fort Necessity, to Braddock's grave,
to Dunbar's camp, and to Gi.st's, now Mount Brad-
dock. This was the end of his travel over the route
pursued by the ill-fiited expedition of 1755. At Gist's
he ordered his men to commence work in opening a
road thence northwestwardly towards the Mononga-
hela, following the route which Captains Poison and
Lewis had partially cut through for about eight miles
from Gist's at the time when Washington was in-
trenching at that place in June, 1754.
Having tlius set his men at work on the road from
Gist's to the Redstone, Col. Burd, with Col. Thomas
Cresap (who was with him as a guide, having previ-
ously explored this region to some extent), Col. Ship-
pen, and probably Lieut. Grayson, of his command,
rode forward through the woods to the Monongahela,
striking the valley of Redstone Creek, and following
it down to where it enters the river. It seems to have
been in contemplation to build the fort at the mouth
of this stream, where Capt. Trent's men had con-
structed the old " Hangard" store-house four years
before, but the orders of Col. Burd left it in his dis-
cretion to select the site which he might regard as the
most eligible. So, after viewing the ground at the
mouth of the Eedstone, and not finding it to suit his
ideas as the site of a fortification, he proceeded uj) the
river until he came to the mouth of Nemacolin's or
Dunlap's Creek, about one and one-fourth miles
farther up, and determined to erect his fort just below
the mouth of that stream, on the high ground (now in
the borough of Brownsville) commanding the Monon-
gahela, the valley of the creek, and the country for
some distance to the rear; this being, as he said in
the journal, "the best situation I could find."
Having thus determined the site, he returned to his
working-parties, who were progressing down the valley-
of the Eedstone, and ordered the road which they
were cutting to be deflected southward from the trail
leading to the mouth of the Eedstone. The point
where the new road was made to diverge from the trail
is described by Judge Veech as " a little northwest
of where the Johnson or Hatfield stone tavern-house
now (1869) stands." From that point the road was
laid along the ridges to the mouth of Dunlap's Creek.
On the 23d of October, Col. Burd removed his camp
to the river, and the building of the fort was com-
menced immediately afterwards. It was completed
during the following month, but the precise time is
not stated.^ It was still in process of construction at
of tlie fort seems to have been delayed on account
of scarcity of provisions. On tlie 2Gth of October, Col. Burd said iu liis
journal, "I have kept the people constantly employed on the works
since my arrival, although we have been for eight days past upon the
small allowance of one pound of beef and half a pound of Hour per man
a day, and this day we begin upon one pound of beef, not having an
ounce of flour left, and only three bullocks. I am therefore obliged to
give over working until I receive some supplies."
nov
SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY,
53
the date of the last entry in the journal, November 4th.
The " Doctor Allison" referred to in that entry as
being about to set out for Philadelphia, and who had
prcaelied the sermons previously mentioned in the
journal, was the Kev. Francis Allison, the chaplain
of the expedition.
The fort when completed was named, in honor of
the commander of the.e.xpedition, " Fort Burd." As
a military work, it was far from being strong or for-
midable, though bastioned. It was built in the form
of a sipiare, except for the bastions at the four angles.
The curtains were formed of palisades, set firmly in
the earth and embanked. The bastions were con-
structed of hewed logs, laid horizontally one above
another. In the centre of the fort was a large house
also of hewed logs, and near this, within the inclo-
sure, a well. The whole was surrounded by a broad
ditch, crossed by a draw-bridge, communicating with
a gateway in the centre of the curtain in the rear of
the work.' The location of the fort, with reference '
to present landmarks in Brownsville, may be de- |
scribed as west of the property of N. B. Bowman, and :
nearly on the spot now occupied by the residence of !
J. W. Jeffries. South of the fort was the bullock-
pen ; and a short distance, in a direction a little south
of east, from the centre of Fort Burd was the central |
mound of the prehistoric work once known as Red-
stone Old Fort.
Upon the departure of Col. Burd with his command,
after the completion of the fort, he left in it a garri-
son of tw(*nty-five men, under command of a commis-
sioned officer. Some accounts have it that this officer
was Capt. PauU,^ father of Col. James Paull, who
lived for many years, and died in Fayette County. It
is certain that Capt. Paull was aftcrwanh in com-
mand at the fort for a long time. Nothing has been
found showing how long Fort Burd continued to be
held as a military post. " But it seems," says Judge
Veech, "to have been under some kind of military pos-
session in 1774. During Duumore's war, and during
the Revolution and contemporary Indian troubles, it
was used as a store-house and a rallying-point for de-
fense, supply, an<l observation by the early settlers
and adventurers. It was never rendered famous by
a siege or a sally. We know that the late Col. .Tames
Paull served a month's dutv in a drafted militia com-
' In the Pcnnsjivonia Archives (xli. 347) is (i plan of tho fort,
bj Col. Shippon, tlie engineer. On this plan nri- given the
of the work, lis fullows: "Tho curtain, 97!,$ fo<-'t ; "i« flanks, 10 feet; I
the faces of the bastions, 30 feet; a ditch between the bastions, 24 feet
wide ; and opposile the faces, 12 feet. The log-house for a magazine, and
to contain tho women and children, 39 feet square. A gate G feet wide
*nd S feet high, and a drawbridge [illegible, Imt apparently 10] feet
wide." In Judge Vecch's " Monongahela of Old" is given a diagram of
Fort Burd, but it is not drawn in accordance with these dimensions, tho
curtains Iteing made too short as compared with the tize of the Kistions.
2 James L. Downian, in a historical sketch furnished by him to the
AnKricnn Piimter, and published in IS43, said with regard to this first
gariisoning of Fort Burd, "The probability is that after tho accom-
pli^liment of llie ol-jec t for which the commanding ofliccr was sent he
placed Capt. Paull in command and returned to report."
pany in guarding Continental stores here in 1778."
It was doubtless discontinued as a military post soon
after the close of the Revolution, and all traces of it
were obliterated by the building of tlir town of
Brownsville.
CHAPTER VIII.
.SETTLE-MEXT OE THE CtHNTV. -
The first white explorers of the vast country
drained by the two principal tributaries of the Ohio
River were Indian traders, French and English.
The date of their first appearance here is not known, C)
but it was certainly as early as 1732, when the atten- ^
tion of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania was
called to the fact that Frenchmen were known to be
among the Indians within the supposed western limits
of the territory claimed by the j>roprietaries under the
royal grant. This announcement caused considerable
discussion and some vague action on the part of the
Council, and there is no doubt that the fact, which
then became publicly known, had the effect to bring
in the English-speaking traders (if they were not al-
ready here) to gather their share of profit from the
lucrative Indian barter.
The French traders came into this region from the
north, down the valley of the Allegheny. Tradition
says they penetrated from the mouth of that river
southeastward into the country of the Monongahela
(which there is no reason to doubt), and that some of
them came many years before the campaigns of
Washington and Braddock, and intermarrying with
the Indians, settled and formed a village on the
waters of Georges Creek, in what is now Georges
township, Fayette County.
Of the English-speaking traders some were Penn-
sylvanians, who came in by way of the Juniata, but
more were from Virginia and Maryland, who came
west over the Indian trail leading from Old Town,
Md., to the Youghiogheny, guided and perhaps in-
duced to come to the Western wilds by Indians,' who
from the earliest times were accustomed to visit the
frontier trading-stations on the Potomac and at other
points east of the mountains. These traders, both
English and French, were adventurous men, ever
ready and willing to bravo the perils of the wilder-
ness and risk their lives among the savages for the
purpose of gain, but they were in no sense settlers,
only wanderers from point to point, according to the
requirements or inducements of their vocation. Who
3 Judfre Veech saj-s (" Jlonongahela of Old," p. 20), " When the Vir-
ginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania traders with the Indians on the
Ohio begiin their operations, perhaps as early as 1740, they procured In-
diana to show them tho best and easiest route, and this [the Kemacoliti
path to the Youghiogheny and Ohio] was the one they adopted." Anil
he adds, "There is s..nio evidence that Indian tni.lcrs, both English and
French, were in tbii country much eurli,;r" than 1740.
54'
HISTOKY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
they were is no more known than is the time when
tliey first came, for few, if any, of their names have
been preserved, other than those of Dunlap and Hugh
Crawford, and they were of the class of later traders,
who gave up their calling on the approach of perma-
nent settlers.
Nor is it certainly known who was the first white
man who made a settlement intended to be perma-
nent within the territory that is now Fayette County.
Veech believed that the first actual settlers here were
AVendell Brown and his two sons, Maunus and Adam,
with perhajis a third son, Thomas. " They came,"
he says, "in 1751 or 1752. Their first location was on
Provance's Bottom, a short distance below little Ja-
cob's Creek [in-the present township of Nicholson].
But soon after some Indians enticed them away from
that choice alluvial reach by promises to show them
better land, and where they would enjoy greater se-
curity. They were led to the lands on which, in part,
the descendants of Maunus now reside.' . . . They
came as hunters, but soon became herdsmen and til-
lers of the soil. . . . When Washington's little army
was at the Great Meadows, or Fort Necessity, the
Browns packed provisions to him, — corn and beef"
This last statement, however, seems very much like one
of those doubtful traditions that are found clinging to
all accounts of Washington's movements from Fort
Necessity to Yorktown. It seems improbable, to say
the least, that Wendell Brown would in that early
time, and at his remote home in the wilderness, have
had sufficient store of corn and beef to spare it from
the necessities of his numerous family, and " pack"
it several miles across the mountain and through the
woods to help feed an army. Yet it may have been
true. As to the date (1751-52) given by Mr. Veech
as the time of Brown's first settlement on the Monon-
gahela, it appears too early, and there is a doubt
whether Wendell Brown should be named as the first
settler in this county, though no doubt exists that he
was here among the earliest.
Of settlements made within the limits of the present
county of Fayette, the earliest which have been auy-
tliiug like definitely fixed and well authenticated were
those which resulted from the operations of the Ohio
Company, an organization or corporation to which
reference has already been made in preceding chap-
ters. The project of the formation of this com-
])any was originated in the year 1748 by Thomas
Lee, a member of the Royal Council in Virginia;
his object being to form an association of gentlemen
for the purpose of promoting the settlement of the
wild lands west of the Allegheny Mountains, within
what was then supposed to be the territory of the
colony of Virginia, and also to secure the Indian
trade. For this purpose he associated with himself
Mr. Hanbury, a Loudon merchant, Lawrence Wash-
ington, and John Augustine Washington, of Virginia
(brothers of Gen. George Washington), and ten other
persons, residents of that colony and Maryland, and in
March, 1749, this association was chartered as the
Ohio Company by George the Second of England.
The royal grant to the company embraced five hun-
dred thousand acres of land on the Ohio, and between
Hhe Monongahela and Kanawha Rivers, this being
given on the express condition that it should be
improved and settled (to a certain specified extent)
within ten years- from the date of the charter.
"The object of the company," says Sparks, "was
to settle the lands and to carry on the Indian traiU-
upon a large scale. Hitherto the trade with the
Western Indians had been mostly in the hands of the
Pennsylvanians. The company conceived that they
might derive an important advantage over their com-
petitors in this trade from the water communication
of the Potomac and the eastern branches of the Ohio
[the Monongahela and Youghiogheny], whose head-
waters approximated each other. The lands were
to be chiefly taken on the south side of the Ohio, be-
tween the Monongahela and Kanawha Rivers, and
west of the Allegheuies. The privilege was reserved,
however, by the company of embracing a portion of
the lands on the north side of the river, if it should
be deemed expedient. Two hundred thousand acres
were to be selected immediately, and to be held for
ten years free from quit-rent or any tax to the king,
(Ju condition that the company should, at their own
expense, seat one hundred families on the lands within
seven years, and build a fort and maintain a garrison
sufficient to protect the settlement.
" The first steps taken by the company were to order
Mr. Hamburg, their agent in London, to send over
for their use two cargoes of goods suited to the In-
dian trade, amounting in the whole to four thousand
pounds sterling, one cargo to arrive in November,
1749, the other in March following.' They resolved
- Sparks, in his " Life and Writings of Washington," siiys of tliis com-
pany tliat wlieu it was fli-sl instituted Mr. Lee, its projector, was its
principal organ and most efficient meinljcr. He died soon afterward*,
and tlu-n tlie cliief management fell on Lawrence NVashington, wholiad
engaged in the enterprise with an entlitisftksm and energy peculiar to
liirf cliantcter. His agency was sliort, liowever, as liis rapidly declining
health soon terniinated in liis death. Several of the company's shares
changed hands. Governor Dinwiddle [of Virginia] and George Mason
became proprietors. Tliei-e wore originally twenty shares, and the com-
pany never consisted of more than that number of members."
3 The defeat of Washington and BraddocU by the French in the yrars
1754 and 17.55, as already narrated, and the consequent oxpnlsion of
Knglish from the country west of the Alleghenies, virtnally closed
operalii.iis ..f tli.. Oliiu O.nipiiny. Of Ihia Sparlis says, " The goods [de^
sign
1 had c
teiior
IS to discourage anyattempt to send tlio goods at the comp
lore remote point." This was the end of the company's
least as far as this region was concerned. About 17G0 i
made to revive the project, and Col. George Mercer was
SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY.
also that such roads should be made and houses built
as would facilitate the communicatiou from the head
of navigation on the Potomac River across the moun-
tains to some point on the Monongahela. [This route
would, almost of necessity, cross the territory of the
present county of Fayette.] And as no attempt at
estal)lishing settlements could safely be made without
some previous arrangements with the Indians, the
company petitioned the government of Virginia to
invite them to a treaty. As a preliminary to other
proceedings, the company also sent out Mr. Chris-
topher Gist, with instructions to explore the country,
C.xamine the quality of the lands, keep a journal of
his adventures, draw as accurate a plan of the country
fls his observations would permit, and report the same
to the board."
Gist performed his journey of exploration for the
company in the summer and fall of the year ll'MK In
this trip he ascended the Juniata River, crossed tiie
iiiimntain, and went down the Kiskiminetas to the
Allegheny, crossed that river, and proceeded down
the Ohio to the Great Falls at Louisville, Ky. On
this journey he did not enter the Monongahela Val-
ley, but in November of the next year (1751) he tra-
versed this region, coming up from Wills' Creek,
crossing the Youghiogheny, descending the valley of
that stream and the Monongahela, and passing down
on the south and ea.stside of the Ohio to the Great Ka-
nawha, making a thorough inspection of the country,
in which the principal part of the company's lands
were to be located, and spending the whole of the
winter of 1751-52 on the trip, and returning east by
a more southern route.
In 1752 a treaty council (invited by the government
of Virginia at the request of the Ohio Company, as
before alluded to) w.as held with the Six Nations at
Logstown, on the Ohio, a few miles below the conflu-
ence of the Allegheny and Monongahela; the object
being to obtain the consent of the Indians to the
locating of white settlements on the lands which the
company-should select,^thc Six Nations being recog-
nized .IS the aboriginal owners of this region, and the
company ignoring all proprietorship by I'enn in the
lands west of the Laurel Hill range.
At this treaty there were present on the part of
Virginia three commissioners, viz. : Col. Joshua Fry,
Luusford Lomax, and James Patton, and the com-
pany was represented by its agent, Christopher Gi.st.
Every possible effort had been made by the French
Governor of Canada to excite the hostility of the Six
Nations towards the objects of the company, and
the same had also been done by the Pennsylvania
traders, who were alarmed at the prospect of com])e-
oiit ns an Rgcnt to Englnnd for this pui-posp. At times it seemed as if
his effi-rta would lie successful, but ulslncles interposed, yeare of delay
succeeded, and finally tlio breaking out of the Revolution caused all
hopes of resuscitating the Ohio Company to bo nbandoued, and closed its
existeuce.
tition in their lucrative trade with the natives. These
efforts had had some effect in creating dissatisfaction
and distrust among the savages, but this feeling was
to a great extent removed by the arguments and per-
suasions of the commissioners and the company's
agent, and the treaty resulted in a rather reluctant
promise from the chiefs of the Six Nations not to
molest any settlements which might be made under
the auspices of the company in the region southeast
of the Ohio and west of Laurel Hill.
Immediately after the conclusion of the treaty at
Logstown, Mr. Gist was appointed surveyor for the
Ohio Company, and was instructed to lay otf a town
and fort at Chartiers Creek, " a little below the present
site of Pittsburgh, on the east side of the Ohio." The
sum of £400 was set apart by the company for this
purpose. For some cause which is not clear the site
was not located according to these instructions, but
in the forks of the Allegheny and Monongahela
Rivers, and there in February, 1754, Capt. Trent with
his company of men commenced the erection of a fort
for the Ohio Company, which fort was captured by
the French in the following April, and became the
famed Fort du Quesne, as has already been men-
tioned.
The grant of lands to the Ohio Com|)any, even
I vaguely described as those lands were, could not be said
! to embrace any of the territory which is now Fayette
County ; but the company assumed the right to make
their own interpretation, and as they ignored all the
rights of the Penns in this region, and, moreover, as
they had no doubt that it was wholly to the westward
of the western limits of Pennsylvania, they professed
to regard this territory .is within their scope, and
made grants from it to various persons on condition
of settlement. These grants from the company gave
to those who received them no title (except the claim
conferred by actual occupation, temporary as it
proved), but they had the effect to bring immigrants
here, and to locate upon the lands of this county the •
first settlements which were made in Pennsylvania
west of the mountains.
Early in the period of their brief operations the
company made propositions to the East Pennsylvania
Dutch people to come here and settle, and this offer
was accepted to the amount of fifty thousand acres,
to be taken by about two hundred families, on the
I condition that they be exempted from paying taxes
to support English religious worship, which very few
' of them could understand and none wished to attend.
[ The company were willing enough to accede to this,
' but it required the sanction of government, to obtain
I which was a slow process, and before it could be ac-
j complishcd the proposed settlers became indifferent or
j averse to the project, which thus finally fell through
and was abandoned.
I The first person who actually located a settlement
'• on lands presumed to be of the Ohio Company was
56
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
their agent, Christopher Gist,' whose name frequently
occurs in all accounts of the military and other
operations in this region during the decade succeed-
ing the year 1750. He had doubtless selected his
location here when going out on the trip down the
Ohio, on which he was engaged from the fall of 1751
to the spring of 1752. He took possession in the lat-
ter year, but probably did not make any improve-
ments till the spring of ] 753. He had certainly done
so prior to November in that year, when Washington
passed his " plantation" on his way to Le Bceuf, and
said of it in his journal, "According to the best ob-
servation I could make, Mr. Gist's new stttkment (which
we passed by) bears almost west northwest seventy
miles from Wills' Creek."
The place where Christopher Gist made his settle-
ment, and which is so frequently mentioned in ac-
counts of AVashington's and Braddock's campaigns as
" Gist's plantation," was the same which has been
known for more than a century as "Mount Brad-
dock," almost exactly in the territorial centre of
Fayette County, the site of his pioneer residence
1 CliristoplierGistw.-vsof Englishdesceiit. His gi
toplier Gist, who died in Baltimore Couuty in li;''
W..S Edith Cronnvei:, wlio .died in 1004. They ha
who was surveyor of the Western Shore, .lud w >-
sioners, in 1729, for laying off the town of B:ilti
magistnite in 173G. In 1705 he married Zipporah :
pher was one of tlie tliree sons. He was a resideii
before he came to "Western Pennsylvania for the
married Sarali Howard; his brother Natlnnil th i
and Thomas, the third brother, marri I ^ ill
Jolui Eager ll.nvarJ. From cither N i:
General Gist, will) was kilh.-a at tlic lull J II,
close of the lal- mmI u .i. il.n-i ,; ! , i „ i:,
Kichard, and Tliuiji - n, i i ■■■. -ii!!. i :-,- ', ■
urr.iy, and Christo-
of North Carolina
>hio ConiP'''ny- He
III Mary Howard;
accompany W:uihington ..ii ; , : ■ i ,i ,7 ;
and it was from his
journal thatSiJarksaiidlrx. 11- . n i.,,
lilt of that e.'cpedition.
Will, his sons, Nathanirl mil l i,,,. :,, >.,,.
iili r.iTuldock on the
mtnl li..M ..\ M..i,.ri,:,l:,.:,,, ,, i , : 1 ,, ^, ;., ,
- !■ n,,l a grant of
twelv • :,. i>- ,i,.| , i. ^ ,,l l.i I,, :l, , ::,_ i
■ ' i 1 .VflerBrad-
doi'U-- ...i. a 1 ^..1 ,,.....,;. ,1,1 , 1 - , :- , , \
,:,1 Maiyland,
andUi.U.-,>...-.„. il„- l-,„„iKi,i.,-,i,^ 1 ,
■ ,,t,iinGist. In
1T50 he went to the Caroliniis to enli t . ', '
, ill .he English
service, and was anccesslul in accumi h
For a time
he served as Indian agent in the Sniul, 1 i;i ii:
1,,- 1 ■ii,,vcd from the
MoMongahehi country bade to Xorlh Carolina an
died ihf re.
Eichard Gist was killed in Ihe l.altle of King
s Mountain. Thomas
lived on the plantation, and was a man of note til
his death abo..t 178C.
Anno lived with him until his death, when si
Nathaniel, and removed with him t., il„ ,i ii,i .
1 K 1 ky .about the
beginning of this century. Nathani.li, : i
..,lli.r of Hon.
Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, ma. .1
11.11, of B..ck-
ingh.am County, Va.. a grandniece of A i , 1 i ' ,, i i.
i.,,!l,.. mover of the
Bill of Rights in the House of Bnige-ses. Xal
aniel was a colonel in
the Virginia lined. .liiiilho lievolulion.ary war,ai
d afterwards removed
to Kentucky, where hsdied early in the present
eent...-y at an old age.
He lel't two sons,— Henry Cur.v m,! Th„n,:i. C. ri
Sarah Howard, married tli,, 11 : [,'
1 . ,., : s; ,,,.. .,.., ,,,„'
from Kentucky and a di-i,;, , i i.
: , , .^ ;, i; 1,1.../
Brown, was Ihe Demoenl , : \. , 1
, 1 ■ : - , . 'rii.-
I being within the present township of Dunbar, but
j very near the line of the northeast extremity of North
Union. His location was called by him " Mononga-
hela," though many miles from that river. Wash-
I ington, in the journal of his return from Le Bceuf,
mentions it by this name, as follows : " Tuesday, the
I 1st of January, we left Mr. Frazier's house, and ar-
; rived at Mr. Gist's, at Monongahela, on the 2d ;" and
a letter written by Gist to Washington about eight
weeks later is dated " Mouongohella, February 23d,
1754."
Mr. Gist brought with him to his new settlement
his sons, Richard and Thomas, and his son-in-law,
William Cromwell. Soon after his arrival with his
family there came eleven other families from across
the mountains, under the auspices of the Ohio Com-
pany, and settled on lauds in his vicinity, but the
sites of their locations a.s well as their names are now
unknown. Washington, when on his way from Gist's
back to Virginia, in January, 1754, wrote in his
journal, under date of the 6th of that month, "We
: met seventeen horses, loaded with materials and
' stores for a fort at the fork of the Ohio, and the day
after some families going out to settle." And it is
altogether probable that these were the families who
settled in Gist's neighborhood. Sparks says, "In the
mean time [that is, between the appointment of Gist
as the company's agent and the building of the fort
by Trent] Mr. Gist had fixed his residence on the
other side of the Alleghenies, in the valley of the
Monongahela, and induced eleven families to settle
around him, on lands which it was presumed would
i be on the Ohio Company's grant."
Judge Veech expresses some doubt as to the settle-
ment of the eleven families near Gist. He says,
" We have seen it stated somewhere that Gist in-
duced eleven ftimilies to settle around him, on lands
presumed to be within the Ohio Company's grant.
This may be so. But the late Col. James Paull,
whose father, George Paull, was an early settler in
that vicinity, and intimately acquainted with the
Gists, said he never heard of these settlers.'.' But in
addition to the reasons already given for believing
that the families did settle there, as stated, is this
other, that the French commander, De Villiers, men-
tions in his journal that when returning to the Mon-
ongahela after his capture of Fort Necessity, on
the 5th of July, 1754 (the day after the surrenderl,
he arrived at Gist's, " and after having detached M.
de la Chauvignerie to burn the houses round nbout, I
continued my route and encamped three leagues
from thence," which indicates that there was then a
considerable settlement at that time in the vicinity of
Gist's. In regard to the fact that Col. James Paull
never heard of the settlement, there need only be
said that as he was born about six years after those
people had been burned out and driven away by the
French, and as even his ftither, Capt. George Paull,
did nut come to this country before the fall of 175S.),
SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY.
it is by no means strange that the former should have
kiinwti nothing about their settlement.
Aiiiitlier .settler who came at about the same time
witli (iist was William Stewart, said to be the same
Stewart who was emi)loyed by Washington in some
capacity in his e.xpedition to the French forts on the
Alloghcny in IToS. He made his settlement on the
west slioro of the Youghiogheny, near where is the
present borough of New Haven. From the fact of
his location there the place became known as "Stew-
art's Crossings," and retained the name for many
years. That Stewart came here early in 17.5.3 is
shown by an affidavit made by liis son many years
al'terwards, of which the following is a cojiy :
"Favktti: CoiNTV, »«.
"Before the subscriber, one of Ihc eommonwcnUli's jurticesof
the peace for said county, jicrsonally np])earcil William Stcw-
nrt. who being of lawful ago and duly sworn on the Holy
Evangelists of Almighty Ood, saith.That he was living in this
county, near Stewart's Crossings, in the year 175.3, and part
of the year 1754, until ho was obliged to remove hence on
unt of the French taking possession of this country; that
lie was well acquainted with Captain Christopher Gist and
family, and also with Mr. William Cromwell, Capt. Gist's son-in-
law. He further saith that the land where Jonathan Hill now ,
< anil the land where John Murphy now lives was settled
by William Cromwell, as this deponent believes and always
understood, as tenant to the said Christopher Gist. The said I
nwell claimed a place called the ' Ueaver Dam,' which is
[ihioe now owned by Philip Shutc, anAwhcre ho now lives;
and this deponent further saith that he always understood that
the reu.<on of said Cromwell's notsettling on his own land (the ,
Beaver Dam) was that the Indians in this country at that tiiiirf^i
Merc vcrj jdenty, and tho said Cromwell's wife was afraid or
did not choose to live so far from her father and mother, there ■
being at t'.iat time but a very few f.imilics of white people set-
tled in this country. . . . When this deponent's father, himself, [
and brothers first came into this country, in tho Icginningof tho j
year 175^i. they attempted to take pusse..-sion of the said lieaver I
Dam, and were warned off by some of said Christopher Gist's '
family, who
nfonned the
1 that the s:i
uc bo'.c
nged to ^
•illi
Cromwell, tl
e said Gist's
son-in-
uw.
And further dc
pone
eaith not.
' Wii.i.
AM Stew
VI!T
"Sworn and subscribed before.
eth
s 20th
jf April, 1
rsfi
'•Ja
MKS FiXL
:v.'
The victory of the French and their Indian allies
over Washington at Fort Necessity in 17.54 effected the
expulsion of every English-speaking settler from this
section of the country. There is nothing to show that
at that time there were any others located in what is
now Fayette County than Christopher Gist, his fam-
ily, William Cromwell, the eleven unnamed families
living near them, Stewart and family at tho " Cross-
ings," the Browns, Dunlap,' the trader on Dunlap's
Creek, and possibly Hugh Crawford, though it is not
likely that he was then here as a settler, and if he
1 Dunlnp bad certuioty been located liore before 1750, as bis place is
mentioned in Burd's juurnol in that year. And it is bnrdly likr-ty tluit
lie would have come hero after 1754 and before 1759, as tlic French were
then in undisputed possession of the cunulry, and \i9ed it wlmlly fur
tbvir own purposes.
was his location at that time is unknown. There
were some settlements then on the Monongahehi, as
is shown by De Villiers' journal of his march back
from Fort Necessity to Fort du Qucsne. An entry,
dated July (5, 1754, reads, " I burned down the Han-
guard. We then embarked (on the Monongahela) ;
pa.ssing along, we burnt down all the settlements we
found, and about four o'clock I delivered my detach-
ment to M. de Contrecanir." But there is nothing to
show that any of the settlements so destroyed by
him were within the limits of the present county of
Fayette.
After the French had been d-iven from the head
of the Ohio by Forbes, and the English forts, Pitt
and Burd, had been erected in 1750, the country be-
came comparatively .safe for settlers, but some time
elapsed before the fugitives of 1754 began to return.
A few " military permits" were issued by the com-
mandant at Fort Titt, and under this authority two
or three (and perhaps more) temporary .settlers were
clustered in the vicinity of Fort Burd within about
three years after its erection. One of these was
William Colvin, who located near the fort in 1761,
and received a settlement permit not long afferward.s.
William Jacobs settled at the mouth of Redstone
Creek in 1761. He was driven away by fear of the
Indians about two years later, but afterwards returned,
and received a warrant for his claim soon after the
opening of the Land Office.
Upon the conclusion of peace between France and
England, by the treaty of Paris (Feb. 10, 1763), the
king of Great Britain, desiring to appear to have
the well-being of the Indians much at heart, issued a
proclamation (in October of that year) declaring that
they must not, and should not, be molested in their
hunting-grounds by the encroachments of settlers,
and forbidding any Governor of a colony or any
military commander to i.ssue any patents, warrants
of survey, or settlement permits for lands to the west-
ward of the head-streams of rivers flowing into the
-\tlantic, — this, of course, being an interdiction of all
settlements west of the Alleghenies. But the effect
was bad, for while the prohibition was disregarded by
settlers and by the colonial authorities (particularly
of Virginia), it caused the savages to be still more
je.alousof their rights, and to regard incoming settlers
with increased distrust and dislike. This state of af-
fairs was rendered still more alarming by the Indian
troubles in the West, known as the Pontiac war,
which occurred in that year, and by which the pas-
sions of the savages (particularly those west of the
Alleghenies) were inflamed to such a degree that the
few settlers in the valleys of the Monongahela and
Youghiogheny Rivers, as well as those in other parts
of the trans-Allegheny region, became terrified at the
prospect and fled from the country.
But the thorough and decisive chastisement admin-
istered to the savages by Gen. Bouquet on the Mus-
kingum in the fall of 1764 brought them to their
58
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
senses, and made the conntry once more safe, so that
tlie years 17G5 and 17GC not only saw the return of
the people who had fled from the country between
the Monongahela and Youghiogheny Elvers, but a
very considerable increase of settlements in the same
territory by fresh arrivals of immigrants from the
frontiers of Maryland and Virginia, to which latter
province this region was then supposed to belong.
A letter dated Winchester, Va., April 30, 176-5, said,
" The frontier inhabitants of this colony and Mary- [
laud are removing fast over the Allegheny Mountains
in order to settle and live there." The immigrants
who came here in that and several succeeding years
settled chiefly in the valley of the Redstone (which
included also Dunlap's Creek in usual mention), at
Turkey Foot, and some other points below on the
Youghiogheny, in the valley of the Cheat, and in
Gist's neighborhood. In the settlements at these
places, with that at Pittsburgh, were embraced nearly
all the white inhabitants of Pennsylvania west of the
AUeghenies' until about the year 1770.
Information having come to the king of England
that settlements were being made quite rapidly west
of the mountains in defiance of his prohibition, he,
in October, 176-5, sent the following instructions to
Governor Penn : " Whereas it hath been represented
unto us that several persons from Pennsylvania and the
back settlements of Virginia have immigrated to the
westward of the Allegheny Mountains, aud have there
seated themselves on lands contiguous to the river
Ohio, in express disobedience to our royal proclama-
tion of Oct. 7, 1763, it is therefore our will and pleas-
ure, and you are enjoined and required to put a stop
to all these and all other like encroachments for the
iuture by causing all persons who have irregularly
seated themselves on lands to the westward of the
Allegheny Mountains immediately to evacuate those
]iremises." Instructions of the same purport had
been sent to the Governor of Virginia in 1754, and a
proclamation had been issued by the Governor, but
without having the desired effect. The dissatisfaction
among the Indians increased rapidly, and to a degree
which awakened the authorities to the necessity for
some action to allay it. The chiefs of the Six Na-
tions were invited to a treaty council, which was
accordingly held at Fort Pitt in May, 1766, at which
no little dissatisfaction was expressed by the Indians i
1 Jutlge Vcech s.i.vs, " The documentary liistor}' of 17(35, '60, 'G7, and i
iudeeil of all that decade, tpejiUs of no other settlements in Western |
Pennsjivania, or the West generally, tlian those within or iinnie- [
diately bordering nron the Monongahela, upon Cheat, upon the
Yongh, the Turkey Foot, and Efrtstone, the first and last being the
most prominent, and the last the most extensive, covering all llie inte-
rior settlements about Uniontown. Georges Creek settlers were re-
ferred to Cheat, those abont Gist's to the Tough, while Turkey Foot
took in all the mnnntain districts. All these settlements seem to have
been nni !y -■ iit -nip iviiieotis, those on the Redstone and the Monou-
g.ih'Ii I . ' i i It ,ips the earliest, those on the Yough and Tur-
key K. :i '■!: i those of Georges Creek and Cheat occupy an
interiiH i, i 1 i, hug with all the others. They all range from
at the unwarranted encroachments being made by the
whites. In a letter dated at the fort on the 24th of
the month mentioned, George Croghan, deputy Indian
agent, said, " As soon as the peace was made last year
[meaning the peace that followed Bouquet's victory
of 1764], contrary to our engagements to them [the
Indians], a number of our people came over the Great
Mountain and settled at Redstone Creek and upon
the Monongahela, before they had given the country '
to the king, their father." He also addressed Gen.
Gage, commander-in-chief of the British forces in
America, saying, "If some effectual measures are not
speedily taken to remove those people settled on Red-
stone Creek till a boundary can be properly settled
or proposed, and the Governors pursue vigorous meas-
ures, the consequences may be dreadful, and we be
involved in all the calamities of another general
war."
This resulted in the ordering of Capt. Alexander
Mackay, with a detachment of the Forty-second Regi-
ment of Foot, to Fort Burd, where he issued a proc-
lamation, dated at Redstone Creek,- June 22, 1766,
which proclamation was as follows : " To all people
now inhabiting to the westward of the Allegheny
]\Iountains: In consequence of several complaints
made by the savages against the people who have
presumed to inhabit some parts of the country west
of the Allegheny Mountains, which by treaty belong
to them, and had never been purchased, and which
is contrary to his Majesty's royal proclamation, his
Excellency, the commander-in-chief, out of compas-
sion to your ignorance, before he proceeds to extrem-
ity, has been pleased to order me, with a detachment
from the garrison at Fort Pitt, to come here and col-
lect you together, to inform you of the lawless and
licentious manner in which you behave, and to order
you also to return to your several provinces without
delay, which I am to do in the presence of some In-
dian chiefs now along with me. I therefore desire
you will all come to this place along with the bearer,
whom I have sent on purpose to collect you together.
" His Excellency, the commander-in-chief, has or-
dered, in case you should remain after this notice, to
seize and make prize of all goods and merchandise,
brought on this side the Allegheny Mountains, or
exposed to sale to Indians at any place except at his
Majesty's garrison ; that goods thus seized will be a
lawful prize, and become the property of the captors.
The Indians will be encouraged in this way of doing
themselves justice, and if accidents should happen,
you lawless people must look upon yourselves as the
cause of whatever may be the consequence hurtful to
your persons aud estates ; and if this should not be
sufficient to make you return to your several provinces,
his Excellency, the commander-in-chief, will order an
armed force to drive you from the lands you have-
SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY.
taken possession of to the westward of the Alleglieny I
Mountains, the property of the Indians, till sucli time
as liis Majesty may be pleased to fix a fartlier bound-
ary. Snt-li people as will not come to this place are '
to send their names and the province they belong to,
and what they are to do, by the bearer, that his E.x- ]
celiency.the commander-in-chief, may be ac(iuainted
with their intentions." ;
On the 31st of July next following the publication
of Mackay's manifesto, Governor Fauquier, of Vir- ;
ginia, issued a proclamation to the people wiio had
presumed to settle to the westward of the Alleghenies
in defiance of his previous warning and prohibition I
(which had been regarded by the people as a merely i
formal compliance with the king's order, and not in- 1
tended to be enforced), and requiring all such to im-
mediately evacuate their settlements, which if they
failed to do promptly they must expect no jirotection I
or mercy from the government, but would be left to
the revenge and retribution of the exasperated In-
dians.
In October, 176C, Governor Penn, at the request of
the Assembly, addressed Governor Fauquier, saying
that, without any authority whatever from Pennsyl-
vania, settlements had been made near the Redstone
Creek and the Monongahela, and that he had no
doubt this had been done also without the consent of
the government of Virginia, and in violation of the
rights of the Indian nations. He desired Governor
Fauquier to unite with him in removing the settlers
from the lands in the Jlonongahela Valley, and prom-
ised, in case of necessity, to furnisii a military force
to etl'ect the object. Governor Fauquier replied to
this that he had already issued three proclamations
to tiic settlers without effect, but that the commander-
in-chief had taken a more effectual method to remove
them by ordering an officer and a detachment of sol-
diers to summon the settlers on Redstone Creek, on
the Monongahela, and in other parts west of the Alle-
gheny Mountains to quit their illegal settlements,
and in case of a refusal to threaten forcible expulsion
and seizure of their movable property.
All these proclamations, with the show of military
force, had the effect to terrify a few of the settlers
into removal ; but by far the greater part remained
and were not disturbed by the military, which, after
a short stay at Fort Burd, returned to garrison at Fort
Pitt. In the summer of 1767, however, troops were
again sent here to expel non-complying settlers,
many of whom were then actually driven away; but
they all made haste to return as soon as the force was
withdrawn, and not a few of those who had thus been
expelled came back accompanied by new settlers from
the east of the mountains.
Finally all efforts to prevent settlements in this re-
gion and to expel those who had already located here
failed. The extension of Mason and Dixon's line
to the second crossing of Dunkard Creek, in 1767,
showed that nearly all the settlements made were un-
questionably in the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania, and
in January, 17C8, Governor Penn called the attention
of the A.ssembly to this then recently discovered fact,
narrated the ineffectual efforts made to that time to
remove the settlers, mentioned the exasperation of
the savages, which might not improbably result in a
bloody war, and advised the enactment of a law severe
enough to effect the desired result, and thus avert the
horrors of a savage outbraak. Accordingly, on the
3d of February, 1768, an act was passed providing
and declaring, —
"That if any person or persons settle upon any lands
within this province not purchased of the Indians
by the proprietors thereof, and shall neglect or refuse
to remove themselves and fiimilies off and from the
said land within the space of thirty days after he or
they shall be required to do so, either by such per-
sons as the Governor of this province shall appoint
for that purpose, or by his proclamation, to be set up
in the most public places of the settlements on such
unpurchased lands, or if any person or persons being
so removed shall afterwards return to his or their set-
tlements, or the settlement of any other person, with
his or their family, orwitliout any family, to remain
and settle on any such lands, or if any person shall,
after the said notice, to be given as aforesaid, reside
and settle on such lands, every such person or persons
so neglecting or refusing to move with his or their
family, or returning to settle as aforesaid, or that
shall settle on any such lands after the requisition or
notice afore-said, being thereof legally convicted by
their own confessions or the verdict of a jury, shall
suffer death v'dhout the benefit of clergy.
" Provided always, nevertheless, that nothing here-
in contained shall be deemed or construed to extend
to any person or persons who now are or hereafter
may be settled on the main roads or communications
leading through this province to Fort Pitt, under the
approbation and permission of the commander-in-
chief of his Majesty's forces in North America, or of
the chief officer commanding in the Western .District
to the Ohio for the time being, for the more con-
venient accommodation of the soldiers and others,
or to such person or persons as are or shall be .settled
in the neighborhood of Port Pitt, under the approba-
tion and permission, or to a settlement made by
George Croghan, deputy superintendent of Indian
affairs under Sir William Johnson, on the Ohio River
above said fort, anything herein contained to the con-
trary notwithstanding."
This law was doubtless as severe as Governor Penn
had desired, but its folly exceeded its severity, for
the evident brutality of its provisions barred the pos-
sibility of their execution, and it is by no means cer-
tain that this was not had in view by many of the mem-
bers who voted for its enactment. A show was to be
made, however, of carrying the law into effect, and
soon after its passage the Governor appointed the
Reverend Captain John Steele, of the Presbyterian
GO
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Church of Carlisle, John Allison, Christopher Lemes,
and Capt. James Potter, of Cumberland County, to
visit the Jlonongahela, Youghiogheny, and Redstone
Valleys, as well as any other places west of the Alle-
glieny Mountains wliere settlements might have been
made within the supposed territory of Pennsylvania,
to promulgate and explain the law, and induce the
settlers to comply with its requirements. The com-
missioners took with them copies of a proclamation
by the Governor, •which, after a preamble reciting the
provisions of the law, proceeded, " In pursuance,
therefore, of the said act, I have thought proper, by
the advice of the Council, to issue this my proclama-
tion, hereby giving notice to all persons to remove
themselves and families off and from said lands on
or before the first day of May, 1768. And I do
hereby strictly charge and command such person or
persons, under the pains and penalties by it the said
act imposed, that they do not, on any pretense what-
ever, remain or continue on the said lands longer than
thirty days after the first day of May next." Besides
this proclamation, the commissioners also had the
Governor's instructions to call together at each of the
settlements .as many of the people as they could, and
at such gatherings to read and explain the proclama-
tion, to remonstrate with the settlers against their
continuing on lands which still belonged to the In-
dians, and to warn them of the terrible danger which
tliey, as well as other settlers, were incurring by their
persistent refusal to remove. Finally, they were in-
structed to procure, if possible, the names of all the
settlers at the several points, and report the list to the
Governor on their return.
The commissioners, with the Reverend Captain
Steele at their head, left Carlisle on the 2d of March,
and proceeded to Fort Cumberland, from which place
they traveled over the route pursued by Braddock's
army to the Youghiogheny and to Gist's, thence by
Burd's road to the Monongahela. What they did at
the various settlements visited was related in their
report to the Governor, as follows :
" AVe arrived at the settlement on Redstone on the
23d day of March. The people having heard of our
coming had appointed a meeting among themselves
on the 24th, to consult what measures to take. We
took advantage of this meeting, read the act of As-
sembly and proclamation explaining the law, and
giving the reasons of it as well as we could, and used
our endeavors to persuade them to comply, alleging
to them that it was the most probable method to en-
title them to favor with the honorable proprietors
when the laud was purchased.
" After lamenting their distressed condition, they
told us the people were not fully collected ; but they
expected all would attend on the Sabbath following,
and then they would give us an answer. They, how-
ever, affirmed that the Indians were very peaceable,
and seemed sorry that they were to be removed, and
said they apprehended the English intended to make
war upon the Indians, as they were moving off their
people from the neighborhood. We labored to per-
suade them that they were imposed upon by a few
straggling Indians; that Sir William Johnson, who
had informed our government, must be better ac-
quainted with the mind of the Six Nations, and that
they were displeased with the white people's settling
on their unpurchased lands.
" On Sabbath, the 27th of March, a considerable .
number attended (their names are subjoined), and
most of them told us they were resolved to move off, '
and would petition your Honor for a preference in ob- ;
taining their improvements when a purchase was
made. While we were conversing we were informed .
that a number of Indians were come to Indian Peter's.'
We, judging it might be subservient to our main de-
sign that the Indians should be present while we were
advising the people to obey the law, sent for them. ■
They came, and after sermon delivered a speech, with
a string of wampum, to be transmitted to your Honor.
Their speech was : ' Ye are come, sent by your great '•
men, to tell these people to go away from the land
which ye say is ours; and we are sent by our great .
men, and are glad we have met here this day. We
tell you the white people must stop, and we stop them
till the treaty, and when George Croghan and our
great men talk together we will tell them what to do.'
The names of the Indians are subjoined.'- They were
from the Mingo town, about eighty miles from Red-
stone (on the Ohio, below Steubenville).
" After this the people were more confirmed that
there was no danger of war. They dropt the design
of ])etitioning, and said they would wait the issue of
the treaty. Some, however, declared they would
move off.
" We had sent a messenger to Cheat River and to
Stewart's Crossings of Yougheganny, with several
proclamations, requesting them to meet us at Giesse's
[Gist's] place, as most central for both settlements.
On the 30th of March about thirty or forty men met
us there. We proceeded as at Red Stone, reading the
act of Assembly and proclamation, and endeavored
to convince them of the necessity and reasonableness
of quitting the unpurchased land, but to no purpose.
They had heard what the Indians had said at Red
Stone, and reasoned in the same manner, declaring
that they had no apprehension of war, that they
would attend the treaty and take their measures ac-
cordingly. Many severe things were said of Mr. Cro-
ghan, and one Lawrence Harrison treated the law and
our government with too much disrespect.
" On the 31st of March we came to the Great Cross-
ings of Yougheghanny, and being informed by one
1 " Iiuliiin Tt'ter" was then living in a cabin located on what is now
the property of Cul. Samuel Evans, three miles cast of Uniontown.
- \^ follows: "The Indians w!io came to Redstone, viz.: Captains
lI;.viMi, Hornets, M.vg.>g-Wigo, Xogawucli, Strikehelt, ToirIj, Gillj-, and
SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY.
CI
Speer tliiit eight or ten families lived in a place called different settlements of Red Stone, Youghoganny, and
the Turkey Fool, we sent some proclamations thither [ Cheat."
by said Speer, as we did to a few families nigh the This estimate wsis intended to include all the set-
crossings of Little Yough, judging it unnecessary to tiers in what is now Fayette County, and the about
go amongst them. It is our opinion that some will j eight families on the east side of the Youghiogheny at
move off, in obedience to the law, that the greater I Turkey Foot. The lists given in the commissioners'
part will wail the treaty, and if they find that the In- j report of course omitted a great number of names of
dians are indeed dissatisfied, we think the whole will settlers, including a number who were somewhat
be persuaded to move. The Indians coming to Red prominent and well known as having been located in
Stone and delivering their speeches greatly ob-
gtructed our design."
Appended to the commissioners' report was a list
of settlers, as follows :
"The names of inhabitants near Red Stone: John
Wiseman, Henry Prisser, William Linn, William
Colvin, John Vervalson, Abraham Tygard, Thomas
Brown, Richard Rodgers, Henry Swatz fSwartz], Jo-
seph McClean, Jesse Jlartin, Adam Hatton, John
Verwal, Jr., James Waller, Thomas Douter [Douthet,
who owned a part of the site of Uniontown], Captain
Coburn, John Belong, Peter Y'oung, George Martin, I niained, for all the settlers were strong in coniidence
this region several years before 1708, as Christopher
and Richard Gist, William Cromwell, Stewart of the
"Crossings," Capt. William Crawford,- who had been
settled near Stewart for about three years ; Hugh
Stevenson, on the Youghiogheny ; Martin Hardin
(father of Col. John Hardin), on Georges Creek;
John McKibben, on Dunlap's Creek, and others.
The mission of the Rev. Mr. Steele and his asso-
ciates ended in failure, for the few people who had
promised to remove disregarded that pronii.«e and
Thomas Down, Andrew Gudgeon, Philip Sute, James
Crawford, John Peters, Michael Hooter, Andrew-
Linn, Gabriel Conn, John Martin, Hans Cook, Daniel
McKay, Josias Crawford, one Provence.
"Names of some who met us at Giesse's [Gist's]
place: One Bloomfield [probably BrowntieJd], James
Lvnn, Ezekiel Johnson, Richard Harrison, Phil Sute,
Jed Johnson, Thomas G
James Wallace [Waller?], Henry Burkniun, Law-
rence Harrison, Ralph Hickenbottom.'
"Names of the people at Turkey Foot: Henry
Abrahams, Ezekiel Dewitt, James Spencer, Benjamin
Jennings, John Cooper, Ezekiel Hickman, John Ens-
low, Henry Enslow, Benjamin Pursley."
Mr. Steele made a supplemental report to the Gov-
ernor, in which, referring to the conferences with the
settlers, he said, "The jieople at Red Stone alleged
that the removing of them from the unpurchased lands
was a contrivance of the gentlemen and merchants of
Philadelphia that they might take rights for their
improvements when a purchase was made. In con-
firmation of this they said that a gentleman of the
name of Harris, and another called Wallace, with
one Friggs, a pilot, spent a considerable time last
August in viewing the lands and creeks thereabouts.
I am of the opinion, from the appearance the people
made, and the best intelligence we could obtain, that
there are about an hundred and fifty families in the
• Rnlpli HlggenlKjItom resided on the Wojiiesbiirg mini, in Menalleii
iisliip, a little west uf ilic Siiiidy Hill Qimker giavcjanl" (" Munong-t-
Uelu "'f Old"). Mr. Veccli also siiya of tlif persons named by Uje cootDiis-
.■i>* that tliey resided nt considerable distances from tlie jilaces where
were met, as, for instance, "James McClean, who lived in North
>n township, near the base of Laurel Hill ; Thomas Ponthet, on the
tract where Uniontown now is; Captain Coburn, some ten miles south-
of Xow Geneva; Gabriel Conn, probably on Georges Creek, near
Wuodbridgetown. The Provances settled on Provancc's Bottom, near
sontown, and on the other side of the river at the mouth of Big
lilely. The BiownBeWs located south and southeast of Uui'ntovvu."
that results fixvorable to their continued occupation
would come from the treaty council which was ap-
pointed to be held at Fort Pitt about a month later.
At that treaty council there were present nearly two
thousand Indians, including, besides chiefs and head
men of the dominant Six Nations, representatives of
the Delaware, Shawanese, Munsee, and Mohican
[Gist], Charles Lindsay, | tribes. On the part of the white men there were
present George Croghan, deputy agent for Indian
affairs; John Allen and Joseph Shii)pcn, Jr., Esiirs.,
- Captain (afterwards colonel) William Crawford settled on the west
bank of the Youghiogheny at Stcwait's Crossings. A deposition sworn
l>y him, and having reference to his settlement here and some other
matleis, is funn<l in the -'Calendar of Virginia State Papers and other
Mauusciipts, li;..2-178I. Preserved in tlio Capitol at Eichmond. Ar-
ranged and edited by William Palmer, M.D., under anthuiily of the
l.c^i-luiuii' >■! Vii^iiiia, v,.l, i. 1st.'.." Tin- ili'impiii wlii.li was taken
1,-, , .. : ,,:•..■.,,- u. .. ■ ' ,- : ,,. .-xplain-
tlie cxpnlsiun of the Fieiiili and tin- building uf the K.iglish forts, Pitt
and Bnrd.
" Colonel William Crawford Dcposeth and saitli that his first acquaint-
ance with llie Country on the Ohio was in the year 1758, he then being
an OITiccr in the Virginia Service. That between that time and the year '
1705 ft number of Settlements were made on the Public Roads in that
Country by Permission ol the Several Commanding Officers nt Fort Pitt.
Tliut in the Fall of the year 1705 lie made some Improvements on the
West Side of the Allegheny Mountains ; in the Spring of the year fol-
lowing he settled, and has continued to live out hero ever since. That
liefoie thiit 1i[ne, and in that yrar, a f'.>n^iderable number of Settleuiel
\( : . i,..i I , ij. tliii,:.- Hi .11 ilii . !i>;:i 111 d, without permis.«ion from any
' II : _' :: ~ :,, II -•tllcments were made with
i I ■' I 1,1 iii|.i . 1 iiiii. and some others within Col.
< I lI n. -. ii III II. it iiiii.. r , : ; , | .—.|it the people continued to emi-
grate to this (.'.'untry vi-iy fast. Th" Deponeiit lieing asked by Mr.
Morgan if he knows the names of those who settled on the Indiana
Claim in the year nCO, and on what Waters, answers that Zachel Mor-
gan, James Chew, and Jacob Prickett came out in that year, and was in-
formed by them that they settled up the Jlonongahola ; lliat he hassince
seen Zachel Morgan's plantation, which is on the South side of the lino
run by Mason and Dixon, and that he believes that to be the first set-
tlenielit made in this Country. . . ." The "Zachel Morgan's pinntaliou"
hat^
iny \
th« '
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
commissioners for the province of Pennsylvania;
Alexander McKee, commissary of Indian affairs; Col. '
John Keed, commandant of Fort Pitt, and several I
other military officers. The principal interpreter was
Henry Jfoutoiir, and many of the Monongahela and
Redstone settlers were present and among the most
anxious of the spectators.
The council proceeded in the usual way, with high-
sounding speeches, hollow assurances of friendship,
the presentation of divers belts and strings of wam- j
pum, and tlie distribution among the Indians of pres-
ents to the amount of .£1-500 ; but as the deliberations
progressed it became more and more apparent that
there existed among the savages no deep-seated dis-
satisfaction against the settlers ; that nearly all the j
indignation at the encroachments of the whites was j
felt and expressed by the gentlemen acting for the !
Pennsylvania authorities ; that these were extremely
angry with the Indians because in a few instances
they had sold small tracts to white men, and be-
cause they were now exhibiting a decided disincli-
nation to demand the immediate removal of the set-
tlers. Almost the only Indian of the Six Nations
who complained was Tohonissahgarawa, who said,
"Some of them" (the settlements) "are inade di-
rectly on our war-path leading to our enemies' country,
and we do not like it. . . . As we look upon it, it will
be time enough for you to settle them when you have
purchased them and the country becomes yours." i
The commissioners addressed the Indians, telling i
them that when Steele and his associates had visited |
the settlers the latter had promised to remove. " But,
brethren," continued the commissioners, " we are sorry
to tell you that as soon as the men sent by the Gover-
nor had prevailed on the settlers to consent to a com-
pliance with the law, there came among them eight
Indians who live at the Jlingo town, down this river,
and desired the people not to leave their settlements,
but to sit quiet on them till the present treaty at this
place should be concluded. The people, on receiving
this advice and encouragement, suddenly changed
their minds, and determined not to quit their places
till they should hear further from the Indians. Now,
brethren, we cannot help expressing to you our great
concern at this behavior of those Indians, as it has
absolutely frustrated the steps the Governor was taking
to do you justice by the immediate removal of those
people from your lands. And we must tell you, breth-
ren, that the conduct of those Indians appears to us
very astonishing; and we are much at a loss to ac-
count for tlie reason of it at this time, when the Six
Nations are complaining of encroachments being
made on their lands. . . . But, brethren, all that we
have now to desire of you is that you will immedi-
ately send off some of your prudent and wise men
with a message to the people settled at Red Stone,
Yougbiogheny, and Monongahela, to contradict the
advice of the Indians from the Mingo town, and to
acquaint them that you very much disapprove of their
continuing any longer on their settlements, and that
you expect they will quit them without delay. If you
agree to this, we will send an honest and discreet
white man to accompany your messengers. And,
brethren, if, after receiving such notice from you, they
shall refuse to remove by the time limited them, you
may depend upon it the Governor will not fail to put
the law into immediate execution against them."
Finally a reluctant consent to the proposition of
the commissioners was gained from the Six Nations'
chiefs. At a session held with these chiefs on the 9th
of May, " It was agreed by them to comply with the
request of the commissioners in sending messengers
to the people settled at Red Stone, Youghiogany, and
Monongahela, to signify to them the great displeasure
of the Six Nations at their taking possession of the
lands there and making settlements on them, and
also that it is expected they will, with their families,
remove without further notice. They accordingly ap-
pointed the White Mingo and the three deputie.s sent
from the Six Nations' country to carry a message to
that effect, and the commissioners agreed to send Mr.
John Frazer and Mr. William Thompson to accom-
pany them, with written instructions in behalf of the
government of Pennsylvania."
" Monday, May 9, 17G8, p.m. :
" The Indian messengers having agreed to set out
for Red Stone Creek to-morrow, the commissioners,
as an encouragement, to them for the trouble of their
journey, made them a present of some black wampum.
They then desired Mr. Fraser and Capt. Thompson to
hold themselves prepared for accompanying the In-
dian messengers in the morning, and wrote them a
letter of instructions." In those instructions they
said, —
" As soon as you arrive in the midst of the settle-
ments near Red Stone Creek, it will be proper to con-
vene as many of the settlers as possible, to whom the
Indians may then deliver their message, which shall
be given to you in writing; and we desire you will
leave a few copies of it with the principal people,
that they may communicate the same to those who
live at any considerable distance from them. . . .
You may then acquaint them that they must now be
convinced by this message and the speech of the Six
Nations that they have hitherto been grossly de-
ceived by a few straggling Indians of no consequence,
who may have encouraged them to continue on their
settlements, and that they will now be left without
the least pretense or excuse for staying on them any
longer. . . . But should you find any of those incon-
siderate people still actuated by a lawless and obsti-
nate spirit to bid defiance to the civil authority, you
may let them know that we were under no necessity
of sending, in the name of the Governor, any further
notice to them, or of being at the pains of making
them acquainted with the real minds of the Indians,
to induce them to quit their settlements, for that the
powers of the government are sufficient to compel
SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY.
them to pay due obedience to the laws, and they may
depend on it they will be eftectnally exerted if they
persist in their obstinacy. You nuiy likewise assure
them that they need not attempt to make an offer of
terms with the government respecting their removal,
as we hear some of tiieni have vainly proposed to do,
by siiying they would go off the lands immediately
on condition that they should be secured to them as
soon as the purchase is made. It is a liigh insult to
government for those people even to hint at such
things."
Tiie two gentlemen whom the Pennsylvania com-
missioners liad designated, Messrs. John Frazer and
■William Thompson, being ready to set out on their
coutcmplated journey from Fort Pitt to Redstone
Creek, the Indian messengers were sent for, and at
last made their appearance at the fort, but said that,
after due consideration of the business on which it
was ])roposed to send tliem, they had decided that
tliey could by no means undertake it, and immedi-
ately returned to the commissioners the wampum
whidi had been given them. Upon being interro-
gateil as to their reasons for now declining to perform
what they had once consented to, they answered that
three of them were sent by the Six Nations' council
to attend the treaty at the fort, and having received
no directions from the council to proceed farther, they
chose to return home in order to make report of what
they had seen and heard. They further added that
the driving of white people away from their settle-
ments w.TS a matter which r.o Indians could, with any
satisliiction, be concerned in, and they thought it
most proper for the English themselves to compel
their own people to remove from the Indian lands.
After this refusal of the Indians who had been ap-
pointed to carry the message from the Six Nations,
the commissioners in vain attempted to persuade or
procure others to execute the business, though they
used great endeavors for that purpose, and they
thought it both useless and imprudent to continue to
press on the Indians a matter which they found they
were generally so much averse to, and therefore they
concluded to set out on their return to Philadelphia
without further delay. But in a short time after-
wards Guyasutha' came, with Arroas (a principal
warrior of the Six Nations), to the commissioners, to
whom the former addressed himself in effect as fol-
lows :
" Brethren, — I am very sorry to find that you have
been disappointed in your expectations of the Indian
messengers going to Redstone, according to your de-
sire and our agreement; and I am much afraid that
you are now going away from us with a discontented
mind on this account. Believe me, brethren, this
' This GujMutlia, or Knyashuta, was a chief who met Wosliington on
his first appearauce in tliis region in the fall of 1753. He was friendly
to the Knglish as against tlio Freucli, but in tlio Revolnlionary war tooli
sides against the settlers, and was the leader of the Indian party which
burned Hannastown, tJie county-seat of Westmoreland, in 1782.
03
thought fills my heart with deepest grief, and I could
not suffer you to leave us without speaking to you on
I this subject and endeavoring to make your minds
I easy. We were all of us much disposed to comply
I witii your request, and expected it could have been
I done without difficulty, but I now find not only the
' Indians appointed l)y us but all our other young men
are very unwilling to carry a message from us to the
j white people ordering them to remove from our lands.
They s.iy they would not choose to incur the ill will
of those people, for if they should be now removed
they will hereafter return to their settlements when
the English have purcha.«ed the country from us.
And we shall be very unhappy if, by our conduct
towards them at this time, we shall give them reason
j to dislike us and treat us in an unkind manner when
they again become our neighbors. We therefore
hope, brethren, that you will not be displeased at us
for not performing our agreement witli you, for you
may be .assured that we have good hearts towards all
our brethren, the English."
Upon the conclusion of this speech the commis-
sioners returned to Guyasutha many thanks for his
friendly expressions and behavior, assuring him that
the conduct of all the Indians at the treaty council
met their full approbation, and that they were now
returning home with contented minds. They said to
him that they had urged the chiefs to send a message
by their own people to the Redstone and Monon-
gahela settlers, entirely on account of the great anxiety
they had to do everything in their power to forward
the designs of the government, to do the Indians
justice, and to redress every injury they complained
of; but, as they found that the course proposed was
repugnant to them, that they (the commissioners)
would not press the matter further, though it appeared
to them to be a proper and necessary course, and one
which they regretted to be obliged to abandon. " They
then took leave of the Indians in the most friendly
manner, and set out on their return to Philadelphia."
This unlooked-for conclusion of the treaty council
at Fort Pitt ended the efforts on the part of the pro-
prietary government of Pennsylvania to expel the
pioneer settlers from the valleys of the Monongahela,
the Youghiogheny, and the Redstone.
The aboriginal title to the lands composing the
l)resent county of Fayette, as well as those embraced
in a great number of other counties in this State,
was acquired by the proprietaries of Pennsylvania by
the terms of a treaty held with the Indians at Fort
Stanwix (near Rome, N. Y.) in the autumn of 1768.
In October of that year there were assembled at the
fort, by invitation of Sir William Johnson, superin-
tendent of Indian affairs, a great number of chiefs of
the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca,
and Tuscarora tribes (composing the Six Nations),
with other chiefs of the Delawares and Shawanese
tribes, and on the 24th of that month these were ccn-
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
vened in council with representatives of tlie royal
authority and of the governments of Pennsylvania,
Virginia, and New Jersey. The principal white
persons present at the council were " the Honorable
Sir William Johnson, Baronet, his Majesty's super-
intendent of Indian aflfiiirs; his Excellency William
Franlclin, Esq., Governor of New Jersey ; Thomas
Walker, Esq., commissioner for the colony of Vir-
ginia; Hon. Frederick Smith, chief justice of New
Jersey ; Richard Peters and James Tilghman, Esqrs.,
of the Council of Pennsylvania; George Croghan
and Daniel Glaus, Esqrs., deputy agents of Indian
affairs; Guy Johnson, Esq., deputy agent and acting
as secretary, with several gentlemen from the differ-
ent colonies ; John Butler, Esq., Mr. Andrew Mon-
tour, and Pliilip Phillips, interpreters for the Crown."
The council was opened by Sir William Johnson,
who stated that Lieutenant-Governor Penn, of Penn-
sylvania, had been there and waited a considerable
time, but was forced by press of business to return, leav-
ing Messrs. Peters and Tilghman as his commissioners.
He also explained to the chiefs the business on which
he had called them together, and then, after some
preliminary talk, the council adjourned for the day.
Afterwards its sessions were continued from time to
time until the 5th of November, when a treaty, known
in history as the treaty of Fort Stanwis, by which the
chiefs of the Six Nations ceded to Thomas Penn and
Richard Penn, for the consideration of ten thousand
pounds, an immense tract of land in Penn-^sylvania,
described in the treaty by a great number of bounda-
ries which it would be tedious to quote. This great
purchase may, in a general way, be described as com-
prehending all of the present territory of the counties
of Fayette, Westmoreland, Washington, Greene, Som-
erset, Cambria, Columbia, Wyoming, Sullivan, and
Susquehanna, nearly all of Wayne, Luzerne, Mon-
tour, Northumberland, Union, and Indiana, and parts
of Beaver, Allegheny, Armstrong, Clearfield, Centre,
Clinton, Lycoming, Bradford, Pike, and Snyder.
The Indian title to this great tract having now been
acquired by the Penns, measures were immediately
taken to prepare the newly-purchased lands for sale
to settlers. On the 23d of February, 1769, they pub-
lished an advertisement for the general information
of tlie public, to the effect that their Land Office in
Philadelplii;i w.miI.I lu' open on the 3d of April next
following at ten (I'rlurk a.m. to receive applications
from all person- inrlincl to take up lands in the new
purchase, upon the terms of five pounds sterling per
one hundred acres, and one penny per acre pe
" It being known that great numbers of people
would attend [at the Land Office on the day of open-
ing], ready to give in their locations at the same
instant, it was the opinion of the Governor and pro-
prietary agents that the most unexceptionable method
of receiving the locations would be to put them all
together (after being received from the people) into a
box or trunk, and after mixing them well together to
draw them out and number them in the order they
should be drawn, in order to determine the preference
of those respecting vacant lands. Those wlio had
settled plantations, especially those who had settled,
by permission of the commanding officers, to the
westward, were declared to have a preference. But
those persons who had settled or made what they
called improvements since the purchase should not
thereby acquire any advantage. The locations (after
being put into a trunk prepared for the purpose, and
frequently well mixed) were drawn out" ' in the man-
ner above described.
Prior to the opening of the Land Office in 1760, the
settlers west of the Alleghenies (with a very few ex-
ceptions^) held the lands on which they had located
solely by occupation, on what were then known as
"tomahawk improvement" claims. The manner in
which the settler recorded his tomahawk claim was
to deaden a few trees near a spring, and to cut the
initials of his name in the bark of others, as indicative
of his intention to hold and occupy the lands adjacent
to or surrounded by the blazed and deadened trees.
These " claims" constituted no title, and were of no
legal value, except so far as they were evidences of
actual occupation. They were not sanctioned by any
law, but were generally (though not always) recog-
nized and respected by the settlers ; and thus, in the
applications which were afterwards made at the Land
Office for the various tracts, there were very few col-
lisions between rival clainumts for the same lands.
The plan of drawing the names of applicants by,
lot, which was adopted at th.e ojjening of the Land
Office in April, 1769, as before noticed, was discon-
tinued after about three months, and then the warrants
were issued regularly on applications as reached in
the routine of business at the office. In the first three
months there had been issued daily, on an average,
over one hundred warrants for lands west of the
mountains and below Kittaning. The surveys of
lands within the territory which now forms Fayette
County were begun on the 12th of August, 1769, by
the three brothers, Archibald, Moses, aud Alexander
McClean, of whom the first two were deputy survey-
ors, while Alexander (who afterwards succeeded to
that office and became a more widely-f;\med surveyor
than either of his brothers) was then a young man of
about twenty-three years of age, and an assistant sur-
veyor under them. During the remainder of that
J Addison's Reports, Appendix, p. 305.
- These very few exceptions were pei-sons who lield military pemut3
for settlement ue;\r the forts and on the lines of army roads; also those
U> whom " grants of jirefercnce" had heeu given. Veech 6;iys only out
t*' grant of preference" w.is issued in .Fayette County, viz., to Hugh
Crawford, dated Jan. 22, 1768, for 500 acres, for lii^ - - i,-, r ,; " Ti,rrr-
prctcr and conductor of the Indians" in the nninii . : :,. u
of Mason and Di.\on's line in 1707. Andinafe«ii : i:, I,:, is
sold lands direct to settlers in this county,— a.s t- t.i ■. ih l',! wn-,
and to sonic of Uie Provances, at Provauce's Bollcui, vu llu .Muiii.n-
SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY.
year they made and completed seventy official surveys
in Fayette County territory; and in the following
year they executed eighty more in the same terri-
tory, besides a large number in tiic part which is
still Westmoreland County, and some in Somerset
and Washington.
In the next succeeding five years there were but
few surveys of land made in what is now Fayette ter-
ritory, viz. : In the year 1771, twelve surveys ; in 1772,
fourteen surveys; in 1773, eleven; in 1774, seven;
in 177'), two. During tlie Revolution, Pennsylvania
adopted tlie recommendation of Congress to cease the
granting of warrants for wild lands to settlers. This
was intended to discourage settlements (temporarily)
and thus promote enlistments in the Continental army.
It is doubtful whether this measure had the effect in-
tended, but it closed the Land Office, thus preventing
settlers from acquiring titles to their lands, and from
procuring otlicial surveys, of which none were made
in the ])rcscnt territory of Fayette County from 1775
to 1782, in which latter year three surveys were made
here, and the same number in 1783. On the 1st of
July, 1784, the Land Office was reopened by the State
of Pennsylvania,' and from that time until 1790, the
number of surveys made each year in what is now
Fayette County were as follows : In 1784, twenty ; in
178'), two hundred and fifty-eight; in 1786, one hun-
dred and fifty; in 1787, eighty-eight; in 1788, sixty-
two; in 1789, twenty-eight; and in 1790, nineteen.
Two or three years afterwards they began to grow a
little more numerous, but never again reached any-
thing like the previous figures.
During the Revolution, when Pennsylvania had
closed lier Land Office and issued no warrants for wild
lands west of the Alleghenies, the government of
Virginia pursued an opposite course in the issuance
of " certificates" (corresponding to the Pennsylvania
warrants) for lands in this same section of country.
The reason why this was done by Virginia was be-
cause she claimed and regarded as her own, the terri-
tory which now forms the western part of Pennsyl-
vania as far eastward as the Laurel Hill. Ou this
territory (extending, however, farther southward) she
laid out her counties of Yohogania, Monongalia, and
Ohio, the latter bordering on tlie Ohio River, and the
two others lying to the eastward of it, covering all of
what is now Fayette County. It was on lands in
these Virginia counties that the " Virginia certifi-
cates" were issued in great numbers, principally in
1779 and 1780. A board of commissioners, appointed
for the purpose, granted to such bona fide settlers as
would build a cabin and raise a crop a certificate for
four hundred acres, of which the purchase price was
ten shillings per one hundred acres. The cost of the
certificate wjis two shillings and sixpence; this latter
I > There was no longer nny propriotarysliip by tlio Penns, this Imvlng
I ceased on the pass.ige of "Au .\ct for vesting tlie estates of the late pro-
iprietaries in this Commonwealth." Tliii, usually calk>a the "Divesting
being all that the settler was compelled to pay down on
his purchase of four hundred acres. Thus the pur-
chaser of lands from Virginia paid less than one-tenth
the amount which he would have been compelled to pay
to Pennsylvania for the same lands. For this reason
lie often chose to take the cheaper Virginia title, and
when he had so purchased it was but natural that he
should incline towards Virginia partisanship, at least
so far as to desire the success of that government in
its boundary controversy against Pennsylvania. The
greater part of the lands in the present counties of
Washington and Greene were taken up on these Vir-
ginia certificates, but the reverse was the case in the
territory that is now Fayette, where nearly all the
settlers took titles from Pennsylvania, and where fen-
Virginia certificates are found. Tiie reason for this
was that prior to the close of the Revolution many,
and probably by far the greater part of the people,
believed that the State line would eventually be es-
tablished on the Monongahela, giving sole jurisdiction
east of that river to Pennsylvania, and all west of it
to Virginia.
But in the settlement of the controversy between
the States it was agreed " That tlie private property
and rights of all persons acquired under, founded on,
or recognized by the laws of either country be saved
and confirmed to them, although they should be found
to fall within the other; and that in the decision of
disputes thereon, preference shall be given to the elder
or prior right, whichever of the States the same shall
be acquired under such persons paying within whose
boundary their lands shall be included the same pur-
chase or consideration money which would have been
due from them to the Slate under which they claimed
the right ; and where such money hath, since the
Declaration of Independence, been received by either
State for lands which, under the before-named agree-
ment, falls within the other, the same shall be re-
funded and repaid ; and that the inhabitants of the
disputed territory now ceded to Pennsylvania shall
not before the 1st of December in the year 1784 be
subject to the payment of any tax, nor at any time
hereafter to the payment of any arrears of taxes or
impositions heretofore laid by either State; and we
do hereby accept and fully ratify the said recited con-
ditions and the bound;:ry line formed."
And in the adjustment of claims which succeeded
the settlement of the controversy the rule was ob-
served to recognize the validity of the oldest titles,
whether acquired from Virginia or from Pennsylvania.
So the Virginia certificates (when antedating all other
claims to the said lands) were as good and valid as if
they had been warrants from the Pennsylvania Land
Office, and the titles were afterwards perfected by the
issuance of Pennsylvania patents on them. The price
of lands, which w;is £.5 per one hundred acres under
the Pennsylvania proprietaries, and under the State
till 1784, was then reduced to £3 10s., and the quit-
rent (oue penny per acre per annum), which had pre-
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
viousl y been required, was then discontinued, but in-
terest was demanded from the date of first improve-
ment. Again, in 1792, the price was further reduced
to £2 10s. per one hundred acres, with interest as be-
fore. This continued till 1814, when the price was
placed at $10 per one hundred acres, with interest from
date of settlement.
of Capt.Cresap being on the river, about fifteen miles
' above us, with some hands, settling a plantation, and
that he had concluded to follow us to Kentucky as
soon as he had fixed there his people. We also knew
that he had been experienced in a former war. He
was proposed, and it was unanimously agreed to send
for him to command the party. Messengers were
dispatched, and in half an hour returned with Cresap
CHAPTER IX.
DUX.MORE-rf WAR.
In- the Indian hostilities of 1774, known as " Dun-
morc's war," the territory now Fayette County saw
little, if anything, of actual fighting and blood.shed;
yet, in the universal terror and consternation caused
by the Indian inroads and butcheries on the west of
the Monongahela, it came near being as completely
depopulated ns it had been twenty years before by
tlie panic which succeeded the French victory over
Washington.
The Dunmore war was the result of several col-
lisions which took place in the spring of 1774, on the
Ohio River above the mouth of the Little Kanawha,
between Indians and parties of white men, most of
whom were adventurers, who had rendezvoused there
preparatory to passing down the river for the purpose
of making settlements in the then new country of
Kentucky. The circumstances which attended the
beginning of those hostile collisions were afterwards
narrated by Gen. George Rogers Clarke, who was
himself present and a prominent actor in the scenes
which he describes. The account, which bears date
June 17, 1798, is as follows :
"This country [Kentucky] was explored in 1773.
A resolution was formed to make a settlement the
spring following, and the mouth of the Little Kan-
awlia appointed the place of general rendezvous, in
order to descend the Ohio from thence in a body.
Early in the spring the Indians had done some mis-
chief. Reports from their towns were alarming,
which deterred many. About eighty or ninety men
only arrived at the aj)pointed rendezvous, where we
lay some days. A small party of hunters that lay
about ten miles below us were fired upon by the In-
dians, whom the hunters beat back and returned to
camp. This and many other circumstances led us to
believe that the Indians were determined on war.
The whole party was enrolled, and determined to ex-
ecute their project of forming a settlement in Ken-
tucky, as we had every necessary store that could be
thought of. An Indian town called the Horsehead
Bottom, on the Scioto, and near its mouth, lay nearly
in our way. The determination was to cross the
country and surprise it. Who was to command was
the question. There were but few among us who had
experience in Indian warfare, and they were such as
wc did not cboose to be commanded bv. A\'e knew
j He had heard of our resolution by some of his hun-
I ters that had fallen in with ours, and had set out to
come to us.
! " We thought our army, as we called it, complete,
and the destruction of the Indians sure. A council
I was called, and, to our astonishment, our intended
j commander-in-chief was the person that dissuaded
us from the enterprise. He said that appearances
were very suspicious, but there was no certainty of a
war; that if we made the attempt proposed he had no
doubt of our success, but a war would at any rate be
the result, and that we should be blamed for it, and
perhaps justly. But if we were determined to pro-
ceed he would lay aside all considerations, send to
his camp for his people, and share our fortunes. He
was then asked what he would advise. His answer
was that we should return to Wheeling as a conveni-
ent spot to hear what was going forward ; that a few
weeks would determine. As it was early in the spring,
if we found the Indians were not disposed for war, we
should have full time to return and make our estab-
lishment in Kentucky. This was adopted, and in
two hours the whole were under way. . . .
" On our arrival at Wheeling (the whole country
being pretty well settled thereabouts) the whole of
the inhabitants appeared to be alarmed. They fiocked
to our camp from every direction, and all we could
say we could not keep them from under our wings.
We ofl^ered to cover their neighborhood with scouts
until further information if they would return to
their plantations, but nothing would prevail. By
this time we had got to be a formidable party. All
the hunters, men without families, etc., in that quar-
ter had joined our party. Our arrival at Wheeling
was soon known at Pittsburgh. The whole of that
country at that time being under the jurisdiction of
Virginia,' Dr. Connolly - had been appointed by Dun-
more captain commandant of the district, which was
called West Augusta.' He, learning of us, sent a
message addressed to the party, letting us know that
a war was to be apprehended, and requesting that we
would keep our position for a few days, as messages
had been sent to the Indians, and a few days would
determine the doubt. The answer he got was, that
we had no inclination to quit our quarters for some
1 The country around Pittsburgh was then clnimtd by both Virginia
and Penn?ylviinia, but Cliu-ke, being ii Yirginiiin, viewed the matter
entirely from the Virginian stand-point.
- Dr. John Connolly, a nephew of George Croglian, tlie deputy super-
intendent of Indian nfTairs. «
3 All this region was at that time claimed by Virginia to be within its
" West Augusta" District.
DUNMORE'S WAR.
67
time, tliat during our stay we sliould be careful tliat
tlie enemy did not harass the neigliborhood that we
lay in. Hut before this answer could reach Pitts-
burgh he sent a second express, addressed to Capt.
Cresap, as the most inHuential man amongst us, in-
forming him that the messengers had returned from
tlie Indians, that war was inevitable, and begging
him to use his influence with the party to get them
to cover the country by scouU until the inhabitants
could fortify themselves. The reception of this letter
was the epoch of open hostilities with the Indians.
A new post was planted, a council was called, and
the letter read by Cresap, all the Indian traders being
summoned on so important an occ:isir)ii. Action was
hail, and war declared in the most solemn manner;
and the same evening (April 2(jth) two scalps were
brou^lit into camp. The next day some canoes of
Indians were discovered on the river, keeping the
advantage of an is'and to cover themselves from our
view. They were chased fifteen miles and driven
ashore. A battle ensued ; a few were wounded on
both sides, one Indian only taken prisoner. On ex-
nniining their canoes we found a considerable quan-
tity of ammunition and other warlike stores. On
our return to camp a resolution was adopted to
inarch the next day and attack Logan's' camp on the
Ohio, about thirty miles above us. We did march
about five miles, and then halted to take some re-
freshments. Here the impropriety of executing the
projected enterprise was argued. The conversation
was brought forward by Cresap himself. It was gen- j
erally agreed that those Indians had no hostile inten-
tions, as they were hunting, and their party was com-
posed of men, women, and children, with all their ^
stutf with them. This we knew, as I myself and
others present had been in their camp about four
weeks past on our descending the river from Pitts-
burgh. In short, every person seemed to detest the
resolution we had set out with. We returned in the
evening, decamped, and took the road to Redstone."
Immediately afterwards occurred the murder of
Logan's people at Baker's Bottom and the killing of
the Indians at Captina Creek. The so-called speech
of Logan fastened the odium of killing his people in
cold blood on Capt. Michael Cresap, of Redstone Old
Fort. That the charge was false and wholly unjust
is now known by .all people well informed on the sub-
ject. Cresap did, however, engage in the killing of
other Indians, being no doubt incited thereto by the
deceitful tenor of Dr. Connolly's letters, which were
evidently written for the express purpose of inflaming
the minds of the frontiersmen by false information,
and so bringing about a general Indian war.
The settlers along the frontiers, well knowing that
the Indians would surely make war, in revenge for the
• The Mingo chief lA)g«n, Hio murder of whose fumily in this war
was cli«rgeil on Ciipt. Cresap; but the wliole tenor of this letter of
Geu. Clarlxe goes to prove tlie injustice of the cliarge.
killing of their people at Captina and Yellow Creek,
immediately sought safety, either in the shelter of the
"settlers' forts," or by abandoning their settlements
and flying etistward across the mountains. A glimpse
of the state of aft'airs then existing in what is now
Fayette County is had from two letters written in
May of that year to Col. Geoi'ge Washington by his
agent, Valentine Crawford, then residing on Jacob's
Creek, a few miles northeast of Stewart's Crossings.
The two letters referred to are given below, viz. :
"Jacob's Crekk, May G, 1774.
" DiCAU Colonel,— I am sorry to inform you that
the disturbance between the white people and the In-
dians has prevented my going down the river, as all
the gentlemen who went down are returned, and most
of them have lo.«t their baggage, as I wrote more par-
ticular in my other letter . . .
" I got my canoes and all my provisions ready, and
should have set oft" in two or three days but for this
eruption, which, I believe, was as much the white
people's fault as the Indians. It has almost ruined
all the settlers over the Monongahela [that is, on the
west side of it], as they ran as bad as they did in the
years 17.56 and 1757 down in Frederick County [his
former residence in Virginia]. There were more than
one thousand people crossed the Monongahela in one
day. ... I am afraid I shall be obliged to build a
fort until this eruption is over, which 1 am in lioi)Cs
will not last long."
"jAioli-sCKKtK.Miiy 25,1774.
" From all accounts Captain Connolly can get from
the Indian towns they are determined on war, and he
has sent to all the people of Monongahela to let them
know that a large number of Shawanese have left
their towns in order to cut olT the frontier inhabitants.
This has alarmed the people of our neighborhood so
much that they are moving over the mountains very
fast; but I have, with the assistance of your carpen-
ters and servants, built a very strong block-house, and
the neighbors, what few of them have not run away,
have joined with me, and we are building a stockade
fort at my house. Mr. Simpson also and his neigh-
bors have begun to build a fort at your Bottom [where
Perryopolis now is], and we live in hopes we can stand
our ground until we can get some a.ssistanee from be-
low."
Again, in a letter dated Jacob's Creek, June 8,
1774, Crawford says to Washington, " Wc have built
several forts out here, which was a very great means
of the people standing their ground. I have built
one at my house, and have some men to guard it.
! Mr. Simpson has also built a fort at the place where
j they are building your mill, by the assistance of his
neighbors and part of your carpenters. I have sev-
eral times oflered him all the carpenters and all the
servants, but he would not t.ake any of the servants
and but four of the best carpenters. His reasons for
not taking the servants are that there is a great deal
of company at the fort, and drink middling plenty.
G3
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
He thinks, therefore, that it would be out of his power
to govern them. . . . From Indian alarms and the
crowds of people that come to the fort he can get
nothing done, even with the small number of hands
111- lias.'"
In a second letter of the same date he s.ays, "Since
I jnst wrote you an account of several parties of In-
dians being among the inhabitants has reached us.
Yesterday they killed and scalped one man in sight
of the fort on the Monongahela, — one of the inmates.
. . . There have been several parties of savages seen
within these two or three d.\ys, and all seem to be
making towards the Laurel Hill or mountain. For
that reason the people are afraid to travel the road
by Gist's, but go a «igh way by Indian Creek, or ride
in the night. . . . There is one unhappy circum-
stance: our country is very scarce of ammunition and
arms. I have therefore taken the liberty to write to
you to get me two quarter-hundred casks of powder,
and send them as far as Ball's Run, or Col. Samuel
Washington's, or Keyes' Ferry, where I. can get them
up here by pack-horses. I want no lead, as we have
" On Sunday evening, about four miles over Mo-
nongahela, the Indians murdered one family, consist-
ing of six, and took two boys prisoners. At another
place they killed three, which makes iu the whole nine
and two prisoners. If we had not had forts built ihcre
UHinld not latvc been ten families left this side of the moun-
tains besides what are at Fort Pitt. We have sent out
scouts after the murderers, but we have not heard
that they have fallen in with them yet. "We have at
this time at least three hundred men out after the In-
dians, some of whom have gone down to Wheeling,
and I believe some have gone down as low as the
Little Kanawha. I am in hopes they will give the
savages a storm, for some of the scouting company say
they will go to their towns but they will get scalps."
It was the Inliiiii cliirf Logan, he whose former
frirndsl:
been turned into bitter-
est hatred by the killing of his people, who came in
with his band to ravage the settlements on the west
side of the Monongahela, throwing all that country
into a state of the wildest alarm. The present coun-
ties of Wasliington and Greene were almost entirely
deserted by their people. Dr. Joseph Doddridge, in
his "Notes," says that the people in the vicinity of
his fitther's settlement (in the west part of what is now
Washington County) fled across the ^Monongahela to
the shelter of Morris' fort, in Saii.ly Civuk Glade,
southeast of Ilniontown. Tlial I'oit, li^- -ays, "con-
sisted of an .assemblage ofsniall iH.vrl-.sitiKitodonthe
margin of a large and noxious marsh, the effluvia of
which gave most of the women and children the fever
and ague."
The terror which prevailed on the east side of the
^lonongahela was scarcely less than that which drove
tlic people from the west side of that river. Capt.
Arthur St. Clair, of Westmoreland County, wrote to
Governor Penn, saying, " The panic which h.as struck
this country threatens an entire depopulation there-
of." To which the Governor replied, June 28, 1774,
"The accounts which you have transmitted of the
temper of the Indians and the murders they have
already perpetrated are truly alarming, and give
every reason to appreliend that we shall not long be
exempt from the calamities of a savage war. The de-
sertion of that country in consequence of the panic
which has seized the inhabitants on this occasion
must be attended with the most mischievous effects,
and prove ruinous to the immedi.ate sufferers and dis-
tressing to the province in general." The people of
this region sent a petition and address to Governor
Penn, setting forth " That there is great reason to a|'-
prehend that the country will again be immediately
involved in all the horrors of an Indian war; that
their circumstances at this critical time are truly
alarming, — deserted by the far greater part of our
neighbors and fellow-subjects, unprotected with places
of strength to resort to with ammunition, provisions,
and other necessary stores, our houses abandoned ti)
pillage, labor and industry entirely .at a stand, our
crops destroyed by cattle, our flocks dispersed, the
minds of the people disturbed with the terrors of fall-
ing, along with the helpless and unprotected families,
the victims of savage barbarity. In the midst of
these scenes of desolation and ruin, next to the Al-
mighty, we look to your Honor, hoping, from your
known benevolence and l>umanity, such protection as
your Honor shall see meet." This petition and the
letters above quoted set forth with much of truth and
clearness, the alarming situation of aflairs existing
west of the Laurel Hill in the summer of 1774.
In the mean time (upon the retirement of George
Rogers Clarke from Wheeling to Redstone) an express
was sent to Williamsburg, Va., to inform the Governor
of the events which had occurred upon the frontier,
and the necessity of immediate preparation for an
Indian war. Upon this. Lord Dunniore sent messen-
gers to the settlers who had already gone forward to
Kentucky to return at once for their own safety, and
he then without delay took measures to carry war
into the Indian country. One force was gathered at
Wheeling, and marched to the Muskingum country,
where the commander, Col. McDonald, surprised the
Indians and punished them sufficiently to induce them
to sue for peace, though it was believed that their re-
quest was but a treacherous one, designed only to gain
time for the collection of a larger body of warriors to
renew the hostilities.
But the main forces mustered by Dunmore for the
invasion of the Indian country were a detachment to
move down the Ohio from Pittsburgh, under the Gov-
ernor in person, and another body of troops under
Gen. Andrew Lewis,' which was rendezvoused at
Foil Spccssity
DUxXMOEE'S WAR.
G9
l';iiii|i Union, now Lewisburg, Greenbrier Co., Va.
Tiu'sr two columns were to meet ibr co-operation at
the mouth of the Great Kanawha River. Under tliis
general plan Governor Dunmore moved from Wil-
liamsburg to Winchester and to Fort Cumberland,
thence over the Braddock road to the Youghiogheny,
and across the territory of the present county of Fay-
ette on his way to Fort Pitt, which in the mean time
had been named by his partisans, in his honor, Fort
Dunmore. From there he proceeded with his forces
down the Ohio River, Maj. William Crawford, of
Stewart's Crossings of the Youghiogheny, being one
of his principal officers.
The force under Gen. Andrew Lewis, eleven hun-
dred strong, proceeded from Camp Union to the head-
waters of the Kanawha, and thence down the valley
of that river to the appointed rendezvous at its mouth,
which was reached on the 6th of October. Gen.
Lewis, being disappointed in his expectation of find-
ing Lord Dunmore already there, sent messengers up
the Ohio to meet his lordship and inform him of the
arrival of the column at the mouth of the Kanawha.
On the 9th of October a dispatch was received from
Dunmore saying that he (Dunmore) was at the mouth
of the Hocking, and that he would proceed thence
directly to the Shawanese towns on the Scioto, instead
of coming down the Ohio to the mouth of the Kan-
awha as at first agreed on. At the same time he ordered
Lewis to cross the Ohio and march to meet him
(Dunmore) before the Indian towns.
But on the following day (October 10th), before
Gen. Lewis had commenced his movement across the
Ohio, he was attacked by a heavy body of Shawanese
warriors under the chief Cornstalk. The fight (known
asthebattleof PointPleasant) raged nearly all day, and
resulted in the complete rout of the Indians, who sus-
tained a very heavy (though not definitely ascertained)
loss, and retreated in disorder across the Ohio. The
loss of the Virginians under Lewis was seventy-five
killed and one hundred and forty wounded. Dun-
more and Lewis advanced from their respective points
into Ohio to " Camp Charlotte," on Sippo Creek. There
they met Ccrnstalk and the other Shawanese chiefs,
with whom a treaty of peace was made ; but as some
of the Indians were defiant and disinclined for peace,
Maj. William Crawford was sent against one of their
villages, called Seekunk, or Salt-Lick Town. His force
consisted of two hundred and forty men, with which
he destroyed the village, killed six Indians, and took
fourteen prisoners.
These operations and the submission of the Indians
at Camp Charlotte, virtually closed the war. Governor
Dunmore immediately set out on his return and pro-
ceeded by way of Redstone and the Great Crossings
of the Youghiogheny to Fort Cumberland, and thence
to the Virginian capital. Major Crawford also re-
turned to his home in the present county of Fayette,
where, the day after his arrival, he wrote Col. George
Washington, the friend of his bovhood, as follows :
"Stewart's Crossings, Not. 14, 1774.
"Sir,— I yesterday returned from our late expedi-
tion against the Shawanese, and I think we may
with propriety say we have had great success, as we
made them sensible of their villany and weakness, and
I hope made peace with them on such a footing as
will be lasting, if we can make them adhere to the
terms of agreement. . . . The plunder sold for £400
sterling, besides what was returned to a Mohawk In-
dian who was there."
The " settlers' forts" and block-houses, which by
affording shelter and protection to the inhabitants
prevented an entire abandonment of this section of
the country in Diinmore's war, were nearly all erected
during the terror and panic of the spring and summer
of the year 1774, though a few had been built previ-
ously. Judge Veech, in his " Monongahela of Old,"
mentions them as follows:
" These forts were erected by the associated efforts
of settlers in particular neighborhoods upon the
land of some one, whose name was thereupon given to
the fort, as Ashcraft's, Morris', etc. They consisted
of a greater or less space of land, inclosed on all sides
by high log parapets or stockades, with cabins adapted
to the abode of families. The only external openings
were a large puncheon gate and small port-holes
among the logs, through which the unerring rifle of
the settler could be pointed against the assailants.
Sometimes, as at Ijindley's, and many of the other
forts in the adjacent country west of the Mononga-
hela, additional cabins were erected outside of the
fort for temporary abode in times of danger, from
which the sojourners could, in case of attack, retreat
within the fort. All these erections were of rough
logs, covered with clapboards and weight-poles, the
roofs sloping inwards. A regularly built; fort of the
first class had its angles, block-houses, and sometimes
a ditch protected a vulnerable part. These block-
houses projected a little past the line of the cabins,
and the upper half was made to extend some two feet
farther, like the over-jut of a barn, so as to leave an
overhanging space, secured against entrance by heavy
log floors, with small port-holes for repelling close
attacks or attempts to dig down or fire the forts.
These rude defenses were very secure, were'seldora
attacked, and seldom, if ever, captured. They were
always located upon open, commanding eminences,
sufiiciently remote from coverts and wooded heights
to prevent surprise.
" The sites of the ' old forts' (or prehistoric mounds)
were sometimes chosen for the settlers' forts. This
was the case with the site on the Goe land, just above
the mouth of the Little Redstone, where, as before
mentioned, there was erected a settlers' fort, called
Cassell's, or Castle Fort. How far ' Redstone Old
Fort' was so used cannot certainly be known, as,
while it existed as a place of defense after settlements
began, it was a kind of government fort for the
70
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
storage of ammunition and supplies, guarded .by sol-
diers.' Its proper name after 1759 (though seldom
given to it) was ' Fort Burd.' And there is evidence
that besides its governmental purposes it was often
resorted to by the early settlers with their families
for protection, though for that object it was less
adajjted than many of the private forts."
One of the earliest erected forts of this kind was by
John Minter, the Stevensons, Crawfords, and others,
on land of the former, — since Blackiston's, now
Ebenezer Moore's, — about a mile and a half west-
ward of Pennsville.
There was one on the old Thomas Gaddis farm,
two miles south of Uniontown, but what was its name
cannot certainly be learned, or by whom or when
erected, probably, however, by Colonel Gaddis, as he
was an early settler and a man of large public spirit.
Another, called Pearse's fort, was on the Catawba
Indian trail, about four miles northeast of Union-
town, near the residences of William and John Jones.
Some old Lombardy poplars, recently fallen, denoted
its site.
About one mile northwest of Merrittstowu there
was one on land now of John Craft. Its name is
forgotten.
Su-earingen's fort was in Spring Hill township, near
the cross-roads from Cheat River towards Browns-
ville. It derived its name from John Swearingen,
who owned the land on which it stood, or from his
son. Van Swearingen, afterwards sheriff of Washing-
ton County, a captain in the Revolution and in the
frontier wars, and whose nephew of the same name
fell at St. Clair's defeat.
One of considerable capacity, called Lucas' fort,
was on the old Richard Brown farm, near the frame
meeting-house, in Nicholson township.
McCoy's fort, on land of James McCoy, stood where
now stands the barn of the late Eli Bailey, in South
Union township.
Morris' fort, which was one of the first grade, was
much resorted to by the old settlers on the upper
Monongahela and Cheat, and from Ten-Mile. It
stood on Sandy Creek, just by, and near the Virginia
line, outside Fayette County limits. It was to this
fort that the family of the father of the late Dr. Jo-
seph Doddridge resorted in 177-4, as mentioned in his
notes. The late Col. Andrew Moore, who resided
long near its site, said that he had frequently seen the
ruins of the fort and its cabins, which may yet be
traced.
Ashcraft's fort stood on land of the late Jesse
Evans, Esq., where Phineas Sturgis lived, in Georges
township. Tradition tells of a great alarm and resort
to this fort on one occasion, caused thus: On land
lately owned by Robert Britt, in that vicinity, there is
a very high knob, called Prospect Hill, or Point Look-
out. To this eminence the early settlers were woa
in times of danger to resort daily to reconnoitre th
country, sometimes climbing trees to see whether an'yi
Indians had crossed the borders, of which they judged
by the smoke of their camps. This hill commanded
a view from the mountains to the Monongahela, and
from Cheat hills far to the northward. On the occa-
sion referred to, the scouts reported tiiat Indians had
crossed the Monongahela, judging from some smoke
" which so gracefully curled." The alarm was given^i
and the settlers flocked to Ashcraft's fort, with wives
and children, guns and provisions, and prepared to
meet the foe, when, lo ! much to the vexation of
some and the joy of others, the alarm soon proved I
be " all smoke."
Besides the settlers' forts mentioned as above by
Veech, there was one where Perryopolis now stand^
built by Gilbert Simpson (as previously noticed :
letter of Valentine Crawford to Washington), also
a strong block-house at Beeson's Mill (now Unioni-
town), and perhaps a few others within the limits of
Fayette County.
CHAPTER X.
THE REVOLUTION.
Troops liaised fur llie Field— Sii
Disaffeetiou— Lor.lir.v's Espe-
:)g evidently cniifui
tlie Redstone 01.1 Fort with F.)
Whex, in the early part of May, 1775, the news of
J the battle of Lexington sped across the Alleghenies,
announcing the opening of the Revolutionary st,rug-
j gle, the response which it brought forth from the
people west of the mountains was prompt and unmis^
lakably patriotic. In this region the feud was then
at its height between Virginia and Pennsylvania, both
claiming and both attempting to exercise jurisdiction
over the country between Laurel Hill and the Ohio;
but the partisans of both provinces unhesitatingly
laid aside their animosities, or held them in abeyance,
and both, on the same day, held large and patriotic
meetings, pledging themselves to aid to the extent of
their ability the cause of the colonies against the en-r
croachmentsof Britain. Prontiuent in the proceedings
of both meetings were men from that part of West-
moreland County which is now Fayette. The meet-
I ing called and held under Virginia auspices was
reported as follows :
I "At a meeting of the inhabitants of that part of I
Augusta County that lies on the west side of the !
Laurel Hill, at Pittsburgh, the 16th day of May, |
1775, the following gentlemen were chosen a com-
mittee for the said district, viz. : George Croghan,
John Campbell, Edward Ward, Thomas Smallman,
John Canon, John McCullough, AVilliam Goe, George
1 Valhiiidighani, John Gibson, Dorsey Pentecost, Ed-
THE KEVOLUTION.
71
tvard Cook, William Crawford, Devereux Smith,
John Anderson, David Rodgers, Jacob Van Meter,
Henry Enoch, James Ennis, George Wilson, William
Vance, David Shepherd, William Elliott, Eichmond
Willis, Samuel Sample, John Ormsby, Richard Mc-
Maher, John Nevill, and John Swearingen."
A standing committee was appointed, to have " full
power to meet at such times as they shall judge neces-
sary, and in case of any emergency to call the com-
mittee of this district together, and shall be vested
with the same power and authority as the other
f standing committee and committees of correspond-
ence are in the other counties within this colony."
It was by the meeting " Resolved, unanimombj,
That this committee have the highest sense of the
spirited behavior of their brethren in New England,
and do most cordially approve of their opposing the
invaders of American rights and privileges to the
utmost extreme, and that eacli member of this com-
mittee respectively will animate and encourage their
neighborhood to follow the brave example. . . .
" Hesolved, That the recommendation of the Rich-
mond Convention of the 20th of last March, relative
to the embodying, arming, and disciplining of the
militia, he immediately carried into execution with
the greatest diligence in this country by the officers
appointed for that end, and that the recommendation
of the said convention to the several committees of
this colony to collect from their constituents, in such
manner as shall be most agreeable to them, so much
money as shall be sufficient to purchase half a pound
of gunpowder and one pound of lead, flints, and
cartridge, paper for every tithable person in their
county be likewise carried into execution.
"J'his committee, therefore, out of the deepest
sense of the expediency of this measure, most earn-
estly entreat that every member of this committee do
collect from each tithable person in their several dis-
tricts the sum of two shillings and sixpence, which
we deem no more than sufficient for the above pur-
pose, and give proper receipts to all such as pay the
same into their hands. . . . And this committee, as
your representatives, and who are most ardently la-
boring for your preservation, call on you, our con-
stituents, our friends, brethren, and fellow-sufferers,
in the name of God, of all you hold sacred or valua-
ble, for the sake of your wives, children, and unborn
generations, that you will every one of you, in your
several stations, to the utmost of your power, assist
in levying such sum, by not only paying yourselves,
but by assisting those who are not at present in a
condition to do so. We heartily lament the case of
all such as have not this sum at command in this day
of necessity ; to all such we recommend to tender se-
curity to such as Providence has enabled to lend them
so much ; and this committee do pledge their faith and
fortunes to you, their constituents, that we shall, with-
out fee or reward, use our best endeavors to procure,
with the money so collected, the ammunition our
present exigencies have made so exceedingly neces-
sary.
" As this committee has reason to believe there is a
quantity of ammunition destined for this place for
the purpose of government, and as this country on
the west side of Laurel Hill is greatly distressed for
want of ammunition, and deprived of the means of
procuring it, by reason of its .situation, as easy as the
lower counties of this colony, they do earnestly re-
quest the committees of Frederick, Augusta, and
Hampshire that they will not suffer the ammunition
to pass through their counties for the purposes of
government, but will secure it for the use of this des-
titute country, and immediately inform this com-
mittee of their having done so. Ordered, that the
standing committee be directed to secure such arms
and ammunition as are not employed in actual ser-
vice or private property, and that they get the same
repaired, and deliver them to such captains of inde-
pendent companies as may make application for the
same, and taking such captains' receipt for the arms
so delivered.
" Resolved, That this committee do approve of the
resolution of the committee of the other part of this
county relative to the cultivating a friendship with
the Indians, and if any person shall be so depraved
as to take the life of any Indian that may come to us
in a friendly manner, we will, as one man, use our
utmost endeavors to bring such offenders to condign
punishment.
" Resolved, That the sum of fifteen pounds, current
money, be raised by subscription, and that the same
be transmitted to Robert Carter Nicholas, Esq., for
the use of the deputies sent from this colony to the
General Congress ; whicli sum of money was imme-
diately paid by the committee then present." The
delegates referred to in this resolution were John
Harvie and George Rootes, who were addressed, in
instructions from the committee, as " being chosen to
represent the people on the west side of the Laurel
Hill in the Colonial Congress for the ensuing year,"
the committee then instructing them to lay certain
specified grievances of the people of this section be-
fore the Congress at their first meeting, " as we con-
ceive it highly necessary they should be redressed to
put us on a footing with the rest of our brethren in
the colony."
The meeting held at the same time at the county-
seat of Westmoreland County, under the call of the
Pennsylvanians, was reported as below :
" At a general meeting of the inhabitants of the
county of Westmoreland, held at Hanna's Town on
the 16th day of May, 1775, for taking into considera-
tion the very alarming situation of the country oc-
casioned by the dispute with Great Britain, —
" Resolved, nnanimously. That the Parliament of
Great Britain, by several late acts, have declared
the inhabitants of the Massachusetts Bay to be in
rebellion, and the ministry, by endeavoring to en-
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, FENNSYLVANIA.
force those acts, have attempted to reduce the said
inhabitants to a more wretched state of slavery tlian
ever before existed in any state or country. Not
content with violating their constitutional and char-
tered privileges, they would strip them of the rights
of humanity, exposing lives to the wanton and un-
punishable sport of a licentious soldiery, and de-
priving them of the very means of subsistence.
" Rcsdhed, unanimously, That there is no reason to
doubt but the same system of tyranny and oppression
will (should it meet with success in Massachusetts
Bay) be extended to other parts of America; it is
therefore become the indispensable duty of every
American, of every man who has any public virtue
or love for his country, or any bowels for posterity,
by every means which Gnd has put in his power, to
resist and oppose the execution of it ; that for us we
will be ready to oppose it with our lives anil fortunes.
And the better to enable us to accomplish it, we will
immediately form ourselves into a military body, to
consist cif r(ini|i:uiies, to be made up out of the sev-
eral tii\vn>liiiis, uiulerthe following association, which
is declared to be the Association of Westmoreland
County :
" Possessed with the most unshaken loyalty and
fidelity to His iMajesty King George the Third, whom
we acknowledge to be our lawful and rightful king,
and who we wish may long be the beloved sovereign
of a free and happy people throughout the whole
British l-jiipire, we declare to the world that we do
not mean by this association to deviate from that loy-
alty which wo liold it our bounden duty to observe ;
but. atiiiiiat'd with the love of liberty, it is no less
our duty tn maintain and defend our just rights
(which with s(]rrow we have seen of late wantonly
violated in many instances by a wicked ministry and
a corrupted Parliament), and transmit them entire to
our posterity, for which we do agree and associate
together.
"First. To arm and form ourselves into a regi-
ment, or regiments, and choose oiHcers to command
us, in such projiortions as shall be thought necessary.
"Second. Wc will with alacrity endeavor to make
ourselves masters of the manual, exercise, and such
evolutions as may be necessary to enable us to act in
a body with concert, anil tcj that end we will meet at
such times and jilaces as shall be appointed, either
. for the conijianies or the regiment, by the officers
commanding each when chosen.
"Third. 'J'hat shmiM our country be invaded by a
foreign enemy, or should troo|>s Vie sent from Great
Britain to eulorce the late arliitrary acts of its Par-
liament, we will clieerfuUy submit to military disci-
pline, and to the utmost of our power resist and
oppose them, or either of them, and will coincide
with any jilan that may bo formed for the defense of
America in general, or Pennsylvania in particular.
" Fourth. That we do not wish or desire any inno-
vation, but onlv that things may be restored to and
go on in the same way as before the era of the Stamp
Act, when Boston grew great and America was happy.
As a proof of this disposition, we will quietly submit
to the laws by which we have been accustomed to be
governed before that period, and will, in our several
or associate capacities, be ready, when called on, to
assist the civil magistrates in carrying the same into
execution.
"Fifth. That when the British Parliament shall
have repealed their late obnoxious statutes, and shall
recede from their claim to tax us and make laws lor
us in every instance, or some general plan of union
and reconciliation has been formed and accepted liy
America, this, our association, shall be dissolved, but
till then it shall remain in full force ; and to the ob-
servation of it we bind ourselves by everything dear
and sacred amongst men. No licensed murder! No
famine introduced by law !"
The first men who went forward from this region
to service in the Revolutionary army were about
twenty frontiersmen, who marched from the Monon-i
gahela country and crossed the Alleghenies to join
the Maryland company commanded by Capt. Michael
Cresap, of Bedstone Old Fort (afterwards Browns-
ville). He had been in Kentucky in the spring of
1776, but being taken ill there had set out by way of
the Ohio and across the mountains for his home in
Maryland, where he hoped to recover his health.
"On his way across the Allegheny Mountains' he
was met by a faithful friend with a message stating
that he bad been appointed by the Committee of
Safety at Frederick a captain to command one of the
two rifle companies required from Maryland by a
resolution of Congress. Experienced officers and the
very best men that could be procured were demanded.
' When I communicated my business,' says the mes-
senger in his artless narrative, 'and announced his
appointment, instead of becoming elated he became
pensive and solemn, as if his spirits were really de-
pressed, or as if he had a presentiment that this was
his death-warrant. He said he was in bad health,
and his affiiirs in a deranged state, but that neverthe-
less, as the committee had selected him, and as lie
understood from me his father had pledged himself;
that he should accept of this appointment, he would
go, let the consequences be what they might. He |
then directed me to proceed to the west side of the
mountains and publish to his old companions in arms
this his intention; this I did, and in a very short
time collected and brought to him at his residence in
Old Town [Maryland] about twenty-two as fine fel-
lows as ever handled rifle, and most, if not all of
them, completely equipped.' "
It was in June that these men were raised and
moved across the mountains to Frederick, Md., to
join Cresap's company. A letter written from that
place on the 1st of the following August to a gentle-
' Logiii
' hy Col. Bruntz Ma
THE REVOLUTION.
73
man in Philadelphia said, " Notwithstanding the
urgency of my business, I have been detained three
days in this place by an occurrence truly agreeable.
I have had the happiness of seeing Capt. Michael
Cresap inarching at the head of a formidable com-
pany of upwards of one hundred and thirty men
from the mountains and backwoods, painted like In-
dians, armed with tomahawks and rifles, dressed in
hunting-shirts and moccasins, and though some of
them had traveled near eight hundred [?J miles from
the banks of the Ohio, they seemed to walk light and
easy, and not wit'.i less spirit than on the first hour
of their march." . . . They marched in August, and
joined Washington's army near Boston, .where and
in later campaigns they did good service. Their
captain's health growing worse he resigned and
started for Maryland, but died on his way in New
York in the following October. The names of the
men who were recruited west of the mountains for
Cresap's company cannot be given, but there can be
little doubt that most of them were from the vicinity
of the place where their cai)taiu had located his fron-
tier home, — Redstone Old Fort, on the Monongahela.
The first considerable body,,of men recruited in
the Monongahela country for the Revolutionary army
was a battalion, afterwards designated as the Seventh
Virginia. It was raised in the fall of 1775, chiefly
through the efforts of William Crawford, whose head-
quarters for the recruiting of it were at his home at
Stewart's Crossings on the Youghiogheuy, then in the
county of Westmoreland, or rather, as the Virginia
partisans claimed, in the western district of Augusta
County, Va. After raising this regiment, Crawford
did not immediately secure a colonelcy, but was com-
lissioned lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth Virginia in
January, 1776, and in the latter part of the same year
became colonel of the Seventh. The regiment wliich
he raised was made up principally of men from the
region now embraced in the counties of Westmore-
land and Fayette, but no rolls or lists of their names
can be given. The regiment took the field early in
1776, fought well in the battle of Long Island,
marched with Washington's dispirited army in its
retreat through New Jersey in the latter part of the
same year, and performed good service at Trenton,
and other engagements, but in the latter years of the
war served in the Western Department, and for a long
time formed part of the garrison of Fort Pitt.
The " West Augusta Regiment" — designated as the
Thirteenth Virginia— was afterwards raised, princi-
pally by Col. Crawford's eflbrts, in the same region
of country in which his first regiment had been re-
cruited. Of this last regiment he was made colonel.
An extract from a letter written by him to Gen.
Washington,^ dated " Fredericktown, Maryland, Feb-
ruary 12, 1777," is given below, because of its reference
gton-Crawford Lttte
, p. 02.
to the two Virginia regiments raised in the valleys of
the Youghiogheny and Monongahela, viz. :
"Many reasons have we to expect a war [with the
Indians] this spring. The chief of the lower settle-
ments upon the Ohio has moved off; and should both
the regiments be moved away, it will greatly distress
the people, as the last raised by myself [the West
Augusta Regiment] was expected to be a guard for
them if there was an Indian war. By the Governor
of Virginia I was appointed to command that regi-
ment at the request of the people.
" The conditions were that the soldiers were enlisted
during the war, and if an Indian war should come on
this spring they were to be continued there, as their
interest was on the spot; but if there should be no
Indian war in that quarter, then they were to go
wherever called. On these conditions many cheer-
fully enlisted. The regiment, I believe, by this time
is nearly made up, as five hundred and odd were made
up before I came away, and the officers were recruit-
ing very fast ; but should they be ordered away before
they get blankets and other necessaries, I do not see
how they are to be moved ; besides, the inhabitants
will be in great fear under the present circumstances.
Many men have already been taken from that region,
so that if that regiment should march away, it will
leave few or none to defend the country. There are
no arms, as the chief jmrt of the first men ivere armed
there, which has left the place very bare; but let me
be ordered anywhere, and I will go if possible. . . ."
By the above letter is shown the rather remarkable
fact that by the early part of 1777 the Youghiogheny
and Monongahela region of country had furnished
two regiments^ to the quota of Virginia (besides
eight full companies to the Pennsylvania Line, as will -
be noticed below), and that the men of the first regi-
ment raised here had been almost completely armed
before marching to join the army. Crawford's last regi-
ment, the Thirteenth Virginia, performed its service
in the West, being stationed in detachments at Fort
Pitt, Fort Mcintosh, and other points on the Ohio
and Allegheny Rivers. No list of its officers and
men has been found.
Under Pennsylvania authority a company was
raised in Westmoreland County in 1776, under com-
mand of Capt. Joseph Erwin. It marched to Mar-
cus Hook, where it was incorporated with Col. Sam-
uel Miles' " Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment." It was ■
subsequently included in the Thirteenth Pennsylva-
nia, then in the Second Pennsylvania Regiment, and
was finally discharged from service at Valley Forge
Jan. 1, 1778, by reason of expiration of its term of
enlistment. During its period of service the com-
2 In Febniiiry, 1"
paid to Col. Williiii
wliicli is a part of I
nd equipping liia regluipnt,
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. PENNSYLVANIA.
pany fought at Long Island, White Plains, Trenton,
Princeton, Quibbletown (N. J.), Brandywine, and
Germantown. Following is a roll of the company :
Capfain.
Erwin, Joseph, Westmoreland County, appointed
March 9, 1776 ; commission dated April 6, 1776 ;
promoted captain in Ninth Pennsylvania.
First Lieutenant.
Carnaghan, James, from second lieutenant ; missing
since the battle, Aug. 27, 1776 ; a/ter release he
repaired to headquarters, in December, 177G, and
served as a volunteer at Trenton and Princeton ;
promoted first lieutenant in Eighth Pennsylva-
nia on Jan. 15, 1777.
Second Lieutenants.
Carnaghan, James, appointed March 1(3,1776; pro-
moted first lieutenant Oct. 24, 177(5.
Sloan, David, from third lieutenant, Aug. 9,1776;
killed in battle at Long Island, Aug. 27, 1776 ;
left a widow Mary and daughter Ann, aged eleven,
in 1789 residing in "Westmoreland County.
Third Lieutenants.
Sloan, David, appointed March 19, 1776; promoted
second lieutenant, to date from Aug. 9, 177G.
Brownlee, Joseph, commission dated April 1.5, 1776;
promoted second lieutenant Oct. 24, 1776; miss-
ing since the battle of Long Island, Aug. 27, 1776.
Sergeants.
Lindsay, William.
Eoddy," Samuel.
Dugan, Jaiues.
Justice, John.
Drum and Fife.
Howard, George.
Gunnon, John.
Geyer, John, drummer-boy (eleven years of age), son
of Peter Geyer, below ; wounded in the heel at
Germantown; discharged Jan. 1, 1778, at Valley
Forge; was a stone-mason, residing in Metal
township, Franklin Co., in 1821.
Prioates.
Anderson, ;Martin.
Bentley, James.
Brown, Anilrew.
Brownfield, Daniel, missing since the battle, Aug. 27,
1776.
Brownlee, John, April 1, 1776; discharged Jan. 1,
1778 ; resided in Donegal township, Washington
Co., in 1814.
Bryson, Andrew, April 1, 1776 ; drafted into the artil-
lery at Brandywine ; discharged Jan. 1, 1778 ;
resided in Bedminster township, Bucks Co., in
1816.
Carnahan, Joseiih.
Dunnough, William.
Dovle, Sylvester.
Fitzgerald, Henry.
Forsyth, James.
Gunnon, Jeremiah, missing since the battle, Aug. 27,
1776.
Guthry, John, missing since the battle, Aug. 27, 1776.
Guthry, William, missing since the battle, Aug. 27,
1776.
Geyer, Peter, enlisted at Hannastown ; discharged at
Valley Forge Jan. 1, 1778 ; wounded by a bayo-
net in the groin and by a ball in the leg at Ger-
mantown. His wife, Mary, went with his com-
pany as washer-woman, with her son John, above
mentioned, and accompanied the regiment in all
its marches ; she was eighty-six years of age in
1821, then residing in Cumberland County; she
had three other children, — Jacob, Mary, and
Catharine.
Henderson, Edward.
Hennan, David.
Hennan, John. ■
Henry, John, missing since the battle, Aug. 27, 177G.
Heslet, Robert.
Holiday, William.
Johnson, Robert.
Kelly, Philip, missing since the battle, Aug. 27, 177(j.
Leech, Archibald, discharged Jan. 1, 1778 ; resided iu
Armstrong County in 1811.
Leech, James.
Leonard, James, discharged Jan. 1, 1778; resided iu
Warren County, Ohio, in 1831, aged eighty-seven.
McClelland, David".
McCollister, James.
McCord, William.
McKenzie, Andy, ''a volunteer," missing since the
battle, Aug. 27, 1776.
Miller, Peter, resided iu Bedford County in 1819.
Moor, William, missing since the battle, Aug. 27,
1776.
Moll, William, missing since the battle, Aug. 27,
1776.
Nail, James.
Nelson, James, missing since tlie battle, Aug. 27,'
1776.
Nelson, William, wounded in the left knee; missing
since the battle, Aug. 27, 1776 ; resided in West-
moreland County in 1789.
Orr, David.
Riddle, John.
Riddle, Robert.
Roddy, Patrick.
Sims, John.
Singlewood, Stephen, missing since the battle. Aug.
27, 1776.
Stamper, Charles, missing since the battle, Aug. 27,
1776.
Stone, Allen.
Stoops, John, mi.ssing since the battle, Aug. 27, 1776.
Twifold, William, missing since the battle, Aug. 27,
1776.
THE REVOLUTION.
75
Waddle, William, April, 1770; discharged Jan. 1,
177S; resided in Westmoreland County in 1819.
Watterson, John.
Wead, Maurice.
Wilkinson, Angus, missing since the battle, Aug. 27,
1776.
Three sergeants were also captured, but the roll
does not indicate which.
The Eighth Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line
was raised under authority of a resolution of Con-
1, d.ited July 15, 1776 ("Journal," vol. i. 411-19),
for the defense of the western frontier, to garrison the
posts of Presquelsle, Le Bojuf, and Kittanning, to con-
ist of seven companies from Westmoreland and one
from Bedford County. On the 29th of July, 1776, the
Convention of Pennsylvania, then in session, having
recommended for field-officcys of this regiment Col.
Eneas JIackey (written also McCoy), Lieut.-Col.
George Wilson (of New Geneva, now Fayette County),
and Maj. Richard Butler, they were elected and ap-
pointed as such by Congress. A resolution of Con-
gress having given to the committees of Westmore-
land and Bedford Counties the right of naming the
company otRcers, they were so named (as in the roster
hereafter given), and on the 14th of September, 1776,
Congi-ess accepted them and ordered commissions.
On the 2211 of September Congress elected David Mc-
Clure chaplain, and Ephraim Douglass quartermaster
of the regiment. On the 23d of November Congress
directed the Board of War to order the regiment to
march with all possible expedition by the nearest
route "to Brunswick, N. J., or to join Gen. Washing-
vherever he may be." On the 4th of November
the regiment received orders to march to Amboy,
N". J., whereupon Lieut.-Col. George Wilson wrote
from the regimental rendezvous to Col. James Wilson
IS follows :
"Ketaxian, Dec. 5Ui, 177G.
" D'' Colonall : Last Evening We Rec^ Marching
jrdors, Which I must say is not Disagreeable to me
mder y"^ Sircumstances of y' times, for when I enter'd
nto y" Service I Judged that if a necesety appeared
:o call us Below, it would be Don, therefore it Dont
:ome on me By Surprise ; But as Both y" Officers and
Men understood they Ware Raised for y° Defence of
° Westeran Frontiers, and their fameleys and sub-
tance to be Left in so Defenceless a situation in their
xbstence, seems to Give Sensable trouble, alth° I Hope
We Will Get over it. By Leving sum of ower trifeling
ers Behind who Pirtend to Have More Witt then
ieven men that can Rendar a Reason. We are ill
Provided for a March at this season, But there is
lothing Hard under sum Sircumstances. We Hope
Provision Will be made for us Below, Blankets,
3ampe Kittles, tents, arms, Regimentals, &c., that
■ve may not Cut a Dispisable Figure, But may be
Enabled to answer y"' expectation of ower Countre.
"I Have Warmly Recommended to y' officers to
Lay aside all Personall Resentments at this time, for
that it Would be construed By y" Worald that they
made use of that Sircumstance to Hide themselves
under from y" cause of their countrie, and I hope it
Will have a Good Efect at this time. We Have isliued
y° Neceserey orders, and appointed y° owt Parties to
Randevous at Hanows Town, y" 1.5"' instant, and to
March Eineditly from there. We have Reoomended
it to y" Militia to Station One Hundred Men at this
post until further orders.
" I Hope to have y° Plesure of Seeing you Soon, as
we mean to take Philodelphia in ower Rout. In y'
mean time, I am, With Esteem, your Harty Well-
wisher and H'''° Ser',
" G. Wilson.
" To Col. James Wilson, of the Honorable the Cont.
Congress, Phila."
Until the 5th of December, 1776, the regiment was
styled in the quartermaster's receipts " the Battalion
commanded by Col. Eneas Mackay," but at that date
it is first styled "The Eighth Battalion of Pcnn'a
j troops in the Continental service," showing that it
I had then been assigned to duty in the Continental
I Line. The regiment marched from Kittanning on
i the 6th of January, 1777, and it and the Twelfth
Pennsylvania were the first regiments of the Line in
the field. The next notice of it is found in the " Life
of Timothy Pickering" (volume i., page 122), in the
following reference to the Eighth Pennsylvania :
" March 1, 1777, S.itunlay.
" Dr. Putnam brought me a billet, of which the
following is a copy :
" ' Dear Sir : Our Battalion is so unfortunate as not
to have a Doctor, and, in my opinion, dying for want
of medicine. I beg you will come down to-morrow
morning and visit the sick of my company. For that
favor you shall have sufficient satisfaction from your
humble servant,
" ' James Pigott,
" ' Capt. of 8 Batt. of Pa.
'" QviDBr.ETOWx, Fi-li, 28, 1777.'
" I desired the Dr. by all means to visit them. They
were raised about the Ohio, and had travelled near
five hundred miles, as one of the soldiers who came
for the Dr. informed me. For 150 miles over moun-
tains, never entering a house, but building fires, and
encamping in the Snow. Considerable numbers, un-
used to such hardships, have since died. The Colonel
and Lieutenant-Colonel among the dead. The Dr.
informed he found them quartered in cold shattered
houses."
The regiment was stationed at Bound Brook, N. J.,
in the winter and spring of 1777, where it was attacked
by the British and defeated, with the loss of a number
of men. Lieut.-Col. George Wilson, of New Geneva,
died of pleurisy at Quibblttown, N. J., in February
of that year.
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Cols. Mackey and Wilson having died, Daniel
Brodhead became colonel, Richard Butler lieutenant-
colonel, and Stephen Bayard major. When Morgan's
rifle command was organized, Lieut.-Col. Butler was
made lieutenant-colonel of it, and Maj. James Ross,
of the First Pennsylvania, became lieutenant-colonel.
According to a return signed by the latter, dated
" Mount Pleasant, June 9, 1777," the number of men
enlisted between the 9th of August and the 16tli of
December, 1776, was six hundred and thirty ; enlisted
since the 16th of December, thirty-four; making a
total of six hundred and eighty-four. The strength
of the respective companies was:
Capt. David Kilgore's Company . . 3 55
Capt. Samuel Miller's " . . 4 82
Capt. Van Swearingen's " . . 3 71
Capt. James Pigott's " . . 4 55
Capt. Wendel Ourry's " . . 4 54
Capt. Andrew Mann's " . . 4 58
Capt. James Montgomery's Company . 2 57
Capt. Michael Huffnagle's " .4 70
Capt. Lieut. John Finley's " .2 77
Capt. Lieut. Basil Prather's " . 3 69
From the total, thirty-six were deducted as prison-
ers of war, fourteen missing, fifty-one dead, fifteen
discharged, one hundred and twenty-six deserted.
Lieut. Matthew Jack, absent from April 13th,
wciunded. Ensign Gabriel Peterson, absent from
April 17th, wounded. Capt. Moses Carson, deserted
April 21st. " First Lieut. Richard Carson, deserted.
Acjuila White, ensign, deserted February 23d. Joseph
^IcDolo, first lieutenant, deserted. Thomas Forthay,
ensign, deserted. Alexander Simrall, second lieu-
tenant, cashiered. David McKee, ensign, dismissed
the service. Ephraim Douglass, quartermaster, taken
by the enemy March 13th.
Capt. Van Swearingen, First Lieut. Basil Prather,
and Second Lieut. John Hardin,' with their com-
>i!jiuitiou as brig^tdii
1 to the bravery and efficiency of Lieut.
11, of Fiiyette County, during liis tci-in of
from a Ic-tter written by Gen. James Wil-
JM, on the occasion of his tenJeriiig Uis
.(Ijutaut-general of Pennsylvania, in 17S4,
th- F.lection for Fayette County, Major
r ;!i Sheriff 's Office ; permit me briefly to
In 1 I - lueiif, without detracting from Ihat
go.vi.c to tjie Command-
deed) of a Lock of Hair,
ufficient for me, Sir, to
EPS your administration
mauds, were detailed on duty with Col. Morgan, ancl
greatly distinguished themselves in the series of ac-
tions that resulted in the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne at
Saratoga. These commands consisted of picked ritlc-
j men out of all of the companies of the Eighth Penn-
sylvania.
A return dated Nov. 1, 1777, shows the strength ■•{
the regiment present: colonel, major, two captain-,
six lieutenants, adjutant, paymaster and surgeon, si.r-
geant-major, quartermaster-sergeant and druin-majnr,
twenty-nine sergeants, nine drums and fifes, one hun-
dred and twelve rank and file fit for duty, twenty-
eight sick present, seventy-seven sick absent, one
hundred and thirty-nine on command ; total, three
hundred and fifty-one. Prisoners of war, one sergeant
and fifty-eight privates. Capt. Van Swearingen,
Lieut. Basil Prather, and Lieut. John Hardin nn
command with Col. Morgan. Vacant oflSces : lieu-
tenant-colonel, four captains, three lieutenants, eight
, ensigns, chaplain, and surgeon's mate. Lieut.-Col.
1 Ross resigned after the battles of Brandywine and
Germantown.
On the 5th of March, 1777, the regiment was or-
dered to Pittsburgh for the defense of the western
frontiers, and by direction of Gen. Mcintosh, Cul.
[ Brodhead made, aboutthe 12th of July, a detour up the
West Branch to check the savages who were ravagin.;-
AVyoming and the West Branch Valley. He was at
Muncy on the 24th of July, and had ordered Caiit.
Finley's company into Penn's Valley, where two of the
latter's soldiers, Thomas Van Doren and Jacob Shed-
acre, who had participated in the campaign against
j Burgoyne, were killed on the 24tli, in sight of Potters
i fort, by the Indians. (Pennsylvania Archives, O. S.,
1 vol. vi. page C66.) Soon after. Col. Hartley with lii-
! regiment relieved Col. Brodhead, and he proceeikl
j with the Eighth to Pittsburgh.
I A montlily return of the troops commanded by C"'..
Brodhead in the Western Department, dated July
30, 1780, gives the strength of the Eighth Pennsyl-
vania: colonel, lieutenant-colonel, major, two captains,
three lieutenants, four ensigns, adjutant, paymaster,
quartermaster, surgeon, surgeon's mate, sergeant-
major, quartermaster-sergeant, one drum and file
major, ten sergeants, ten drums and fifes, one hundred
and twenty rank and file fit for duty, four sick, Ium
furloughed, eight on command, three deserted, >ix
joined the Invalid Company.
In a letter from Gen. William Irvine to Gen. Wa-li-
ington, soon after he took command at Fort Pitt,
dated Dec. 2, 1781, he says, "I have re-formed tin
remains of the late Eighth Pennsylvania into two
companies, and call them a detachment from the
Pennsylvania Line, to be commanded by Lieut.-Col.
Bayard." [The first company, Capt. Clark, Lieuts.
Peterson and Reed ; second company, Capt. Brady,
Lieuts. Ward and Jlorrison.]
Capt. Matthew Jack, in a statement on file, says,
" In the vcar 1778 the Eighth was sent to Pittsburrrh
THE REVOLUTION.
to guard the frontier^ and placed under the command
of Gen. Mcintosh ; that they went down to the
mouth of the Beaver, and there built Fort Mcintosh,
and from that went, upon Mcintosh's command, to
the head of the Muskingum, and there built Fort
Laurens. In the year 1779 went up the Allegheny,
j on Gun. Brodhead's expedition, attacked the Indians
: and defeated them, and burned their towns. On the
, return of the regiment, its time having expired, it was
. discharged at Pittsburgh." For a full account of the
services of this regiment in the West, the reader is
, referred to " Brodhead's Letter-Book," published in
I the twelfth volume, first series, of Pennsylvania Ar-
; chives.
Van Swearingen was probably the most noted cap-
tain in the Eighth Pennsylvania. On the 19th of
September he and a lieutenant and twenty privates
were captured in a sudden dash that scattered Mor-
gan's men. He fell into the hands of the Indians,
but was rescued by Gen. Fraser's bat man (one who
takes care of his officer's horse), who took him before
the general. The latter interrogated him concerning
the number of the American army, but got no answer,
except that it was commanded by Gens. Gates and
Arnold. He then threatened to bang him. " You
may, if you please," said Van Swearingen. Fraser
then rode ofl', leaving him in care of Sergt. Dunbar,
who consigned him to Lieut. Auburey, who ordered
him to be placed among the other prisoners, with
directions not to be ill treated. Swearingen, after
Burgoyne's army was removed to Virginia, made
especial exertions to have Dunbar and Auburey ex-
changed. Swearingen was the first sheriff' of Wash-
ington County in 1781 ; resided in now Fayette
County, opposite Greenfield. His daughter became
the wife of the celebrated Capt. Samuel Brady (also
of the Eighth Pennsylvania), so conspicuous in the
annals of Western Pennsylvania.
EosTEE OF Field and Staff Officers of the
Eighth Pennsylvania.
Mackey, Eneas, of Westmoreland County, July 20,
1776 ; died in service, Feb. 14, 1777.
Brodhead, Daniel, from lieutenant-colonel, Fourth
Pennsylvania, Marcli 12, 1777; joined April,
1777; transferred to First Pennsylvania, Jan.
17, 1781.
Lieutenant- Colonels.
Wilson, George, July 20, 1776 ; died in service at
Quibbletown, February, 1777.
Butler, Richard, from major, March 12, 1777, ranking
from Aug. 28, 1776 ; transferred to lieutenant-
colonel of Morgan's rifle command, June 9, 1777 ;
promoted colonel of Ninth Pennsylvania, rank-
ing from June 7, 1777 ; by an alteration subse-
quent to March 12, 1777, Kichard Butler was
pl.aced in the First Pennsylvania, and James Ross
in Eighth Pennsylvania.
Ross, James, from lieutenant-colonel First Pennsyl-
vania; resigned Sept. 22, 1777.
Bayard, Stephen, from major, ranking Sept. 23, 1777;
transferred to Sixth Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Majors.
Butler, Richard, July 20. 1776; promoted lieutenant-
colonel March 12, 1777.
Bayard, Stephen, March 12, 1777, ranking from Oct.
4, 1776; promoted lieutenant-colonel, to rank
from Sept. 23, 1777.
Vernon, Frederick, from captain Fifth Pennsylvania,
ranking from June 7, 1777 ; transferred to Fourtli
Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Captains.
Kilgore, David, died July 11, 1814, aged sixty-nine
years four months and twelve days ; buried in
the Presbyterian graveyard of Mount Pleasant
(Middle Church), Westmoreland County. — Letter
of Nannie H. Kilgore, Oreensburg, July 23, 1878.
Miller, Samuel, died in service, Jan. 10, 1778; left a
Avidow, Jane Cruikshank, who resided in West-
moreland County in 1784.
Van Swearingen,' Aug. 9, 1776. Van Swearingen had
been in command of an independent company, in
the pay of the State, from February to Aug. 11,
1776, in defense of the frontiers in Westmoreland
County.
Piggott, James ; on return June 9, 1777, he is marked
sick in camp,
Ourry, Wendel.
Mann, Andrew; on return of June 9, 1777, lie is
marked sick in quarters since May 2d.
Carson, Moses, left the service April 21, 1777.
Miers, Eliezer.
[The foregoing captains were recommended by the
committees of Westmoreland and Bedford Counties,
and directed to be commissioned by resolution of Con-
gress of Sept. 14, 1776.]
Montgomery, James, died Aug. 26, 1777 ; his widow,
Martha, resided in Westmoreland County in 1824.
Huffhagle, Michael, died Dec. 31, 1819, in Allegheny
County, aged sixty-six.
Jack, Matthew, from first lieutenant; became super-
numerary Jan. 31, 1779; resided in Westmore-
land County in 1835, aged eighty-two.
Stokely, Nehemiah, Oct. 16, 1777; became supernu-
merary Jan. 31, 1779; died in Westmoreland
County in 1811.
Cooke, Thomas, from first lieutenant ; became super-
numerary Jan. 31, 1779; died in Guernsey County,
Ohio, Nov. 5, 1831.
1 Tlie names of the captnins appear, on the first return found, in tlie
orOer iudicated above, but date of commissions cannot be ascertuiued.
riobally thej' wcic all dated .4ug 0, 1770, as Van Sivearirjgen's.
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Dawson, Samuel,'from Eleventh Pennsylvania, July
1, 1778; died at Fort Pitt, Sept. 6, 1779; buried
in First Presbyterian churchyard in Pittsburgh.
Moore, James Francis, from Thirteenth Pennsylvania,
July 1, 1778.
Clark, John, from Thirteenth Pennsylvania, July 1,
1778 ; transferred to First Pennsylvania, July 17,
1781.
Carnahan, James, from Thirteenth Pennsylvania,
July 1, 1778; transferred to Fourth Pennsylva-
nia," Jan. 17, 1781.
Finley, Joseph L., from Thirteenth Pennsylvania,
July 1, 1778 ; brigade-ra.ijor, July 30, 1780; trans-
ferred to Second Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Finley, John, from first lieutenant, Oct. 22, 1777;
transferred to Fifth Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Crawford, John, from first lieutenant, Aug. 10, 1779;
transferred to Sixth Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Brady, Samuel, from captain lieutenant, Aug. 2, 1779;
transferred to Third Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Captain Lieutenant.
Brady, Samuel, commission dated July 17, 1776 ; from
Sixth Pennsylvania; promoted captain Aug. 2,
1779.
First Lieutenants.
Moseley, Robert (written Moody in the return), re-
signed May 1(3, 1777; resided in Ohio County,
Ky., in 1820, aged sixty-nine.
Cooke, Thomas, promoted captain.
Finley, John, promoted captain Oct. 22, 1777.
Jack, Matthew, lost his left hand by the bursting of
his gun at Bound Brook, N. J. ; promoted captain
April 13, 1777.
Hickman, Ezekiel.
Carson. Richard, left the service in 1777.
ilcGeary, William, resigned April 17, 1777.
McDolo", Joseph, left the service in 1777.
[The foregoing first lieutenants were commissioned
under the resolution of Congress of Sept. 16, 1776.]
Richardson, Richard, returned June 9, 1777, as re-
cruiting.
Pratlier, Basil, returned Nov. 1, 1777, as on command
with Col. Morgan from June 9th; resigned April
Hughe-, John, Aug. 9, 1776; resigned Nov. 23,1778;
resided in AVashington County in 1813.
Crawford, John, from second lieutenant, April 18,
1777 ; promoted captain Aug. 10, 1779 ; promoted
to Second Pennsylvania, with rank of captain,
from April 18, 1777.
Hardin, John, July 13, 1777 ; Nov. 1, 1777, returned
as on command with Col. ^lorgan ; resigned in
1779;afterwar.l-i;rii..I.i]iii Hardin, of Kentucky ;
murdered by the linliuns. near Sandusky, Ohio,
in 1791.— Tr7///»^r»/N M.moirs.
Mickey, Daniel, became supernumerary Jan. 31, 1779.
Peterson, Gabriel, July 26, 1777; died in Allegheny
Countv, Feb. 12, 1832.
Stotesbury, John, from old Eleventh Pennsylvania,
commission dated April 9, 1777 ; he was a pris-
oner in New York for some time ; transferred to
the Second Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Neilly, Benjamin, from ensign, Oct. 4, 1777.
Finley, Andrew, on return of Nov. 1, 1777, marked
sick since October 16th ; retired in 1778; resided
in Westmoreland County, 1813.
Amberson, William, in 1779 he was deputy muster-
master-general ; resided in Mercer County in
1835.
Read, Archibald, vice Joseph Brownlee, Dec. 13, 177S ;
died in Allegheny County in 1823.
Graham, Alexander, I'ice Basil Prather, April 1, 1779.
Ward, John, April 2, 1779; transferred to Second,
Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Second Lieutenants,
Thompson, William, Aug. 9, 1776 ; resigned May 17,
1777.
Simrall, Alexander, Aug. 9, 1776 ; left the army in
1777 ; resided in Jefterson County, Ohio, in 1834,
aged eighty-eight.
Guthrie, James, Aug. 9, 1776.
Rogers, Philip, Aug. 9, 1776.
Smith, Samuel, Aug. 9, 1776 ; killed at Germantown,
Oct. 4, 1777.
Mountz, William, Aug. 9, 1776; resigned April 17,
1777.
Beeler, James, Jr., Aug. 9, 1776.
Crawford, John, Aug. 9, 1776; promoted first lieu-
tenant, April 18, 1777.
[The foregoing second lieutenants were commis-
sioned under resolution of Congress, Sept. 14, 1776,
dating as above.]
Owine, Barnabas, marked on return of Nov. 1, 1777,
as command in the infantry.
Carnahan, John, resigned in 1779.
Fn.nf/ns.
Neilly, Benjamin, promoted to first lieutenant, Oct. 4,
1777.
Kerr, Joseph.
Simmons, John.
Wherry, David.
Mecklin, Dewalt, resigned Ajiril 17, 1777.
Weaver, Valentine.
Reed, John.
White, Aquila, left the army Feb. 23, 1777; resi(
in Montgomery County, Ky., in 1834.
[The foregoing ensigns were commissioned under a
resolution of Congress of Sept. 14, 1776.]
Forshay, Thomas, left the service in 1777.
McKee, David, left the service in 1777.
Peterson, Gabriel, on a return of June 9, 1777, he ia
marked absent, wounded, from April 17, 1777;
promoted to first lieutenant, July 26, 1777.
Guthrie, John, appointed Dec. 21, 1778.
Morrison, James, appointed Dec. 21, 1778.
THE REVOLUTION.
79
Wyatt, Thomas, appointed Dec. 21, 177S ; resided at
St. Louis, Mo., in 1834, aged eighty.
Cooper, William, appointed April 19, 1779.
Davidson, Joshua, appointed April 19, 1779; resided
in Brown County, Ohio, in 1833, aged eighty-one.
Chaplain.
McClure, Rev. David, appointed Sept. 12, 1776.
Adjutants.
Huffiiagle, Michael, appointed Sept. 7, 1776.
Crawford, John, lieutenant, 1780.
Boyc
Paymaster.
John, July 20, 1776.
Quartermasters.
Douglass, Ephraim, Sept. 12, 1776; taken prisoner
while acting as aide-de-camp to Gen. Lincoln,
March 13, 1777 ; exchanged Nov. 27, 1780 ; pro-
thonotary of Fayette County in 1783; died in
* 1833.
Neilly, Benjamin, appointed in 1778.
Surgeons.
Morgan, Abel, from old Eleventh ; resigned in 1779 ;
died in 1785.
Morton, Hugh, March 7, 1780.
Surgeo7i's Mate.
Saple, John Alexander, 1778.
Read, Archibald, 1778.
Muster-roll of Capt. Nehemlah Stokebfs company, in
the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment of Foot, in the
service of the United States of America, commanded
by Col. Daniel Brodhead, talen for the months of
October, November, and December, 1778, and Janu-
ary, 1779.
Cajjtain.
Stokely, Nehemiah, Oct. 16, 1777 ; supernumerary,
Jan. 31, 1779.
First Lieutenant.
Hughes, John, Aug. 9, 1776 ; resigned Nov. 23, 1778.
Ensign.
\Vv:iit, Thomas, Dec. 20, 1778, on command at Fort
, Laurens.
Sergeants.
Crawford, Robert, three years.
Hezlip, Rezin, three years.
Smith, John, three years, on command at Sugar
Camp.
Anii>trong, George, war.
Corporals.
Bradley, Thomas, three years.
Jarret, William, three years, on command at Fort
Laurens.
Ackles, Arthur, three years, on guard at Block-house.
Stevenson, James, three years, on command at Sugar
Camp.
Drummer.
Bower, Michael.
Privates.
Bacon, John, war, at Fort Laurens.
Caldwell, Robert, three years, on command, making
canoes.
Cline, George, three years.
Cooper, Joseph, three years, on command at Fort
Laurens.
Counse, Felix, three years.
Eyler, Jonas, war, on command at Fort Laurens.
Fisher, John, three years.
France, Henry, three years.
Handcock, Joseph, three years.
Hill, John, three years.
Holmes, Nicholas, three years.
Holstone, George, three years, on command at Fort
Laurens.
Keer, William, three years.
Lamb, Peter, three years, on command at Fort Lau-
rens.
Lewis, Samuel, war.
Lynch, Patrick, three years, on command, boating.
McCombs, Allen, three years.
McCaully, Edward, war.
McGreggor, John, war.
McKeehan, David, three years, on command at Fort
Laurens.
McKissan, James, three years.
McLaughlin, Patrick, three years.
Matthew, William, three years, on command, boating.
Marman, George, war, on command, recruiting.
Martin, Paul, three years, on command at Fort Lau-
rens.
Miller, George, three years, on command at Fort
Laurens.
Richard, Richard, three years.
Shaw, Jacob, three years, on furlough.
Shelhammer, Peter, three years.
Smith, Emanuel, three years.
Smith, Jacob, three years.
Smith, John, war.
Sommerville, William, three years, on command ; en-
listed Aug. 8, 1776, under Capt. Ourry ; October,
1778, appointed conductor of artillery ; see letters
to, Pennsylvania Archives, second series, vol. iii.
p. 246, etc.; he was appointed by President Jef-
' ferson postmaster at Martinsburg, Va., and died
there, March 18, 1826, aged seventy.
Steel, Thomas, war.
I Tracey, James, war, on guard.
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Turner, William, three years.
AVebb, Hugli, war, on command, at Sugar Camp. j
AVilkie, Edward, war, on command, at Fort Laurens. '
FonT MclNTOSH, Feb. 21, 1779. j
Then mustered Capt. Stokely's company, as speci- i
fied in the above roll. |
Wm. Axuersox,
U.JUL Go,/., M.I).
I certify that the within muster-roll is a true state
iif the company, without fraud to these United States,
ur to any individual, to the best of my knowledge. i
KOBEET CeA"\VFOED,
Sergeant. j
I do certify that there is no commissioned officer
present belonging to the company.
Daniel Bkodhead,
Co!. 8th Pa. Eegt.
CoMMlssiON-Ens' OrnCE fok Aejit Accocnts, [
New York, July 19, 1780. j
This may certify that the above and foregoing is a
true copy of the muster-roll of Capt. Stokely's com-
pauy, tlie original of which is filed in this office.
Jxo. Pierce, M.G.
NOX-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND PRIVATES OF ,
THE Eighth Pennsylvania Kegiment, Con- i
TINENTAL LiNE.' j
[Those marked (e) are taken from a list in the Sec- ;
retary's office of soldiers whose depreciated pay es-
cheated to the State.]
Senjrant.
Allison, John, died in Versailles, Ky., June 16, 1823,
aged seventy-five.
Ciirporal.
Fifer.
Atkinson, Joseph,
Adams, George.
Pnvates.
Abrams, Gabriel, Kilgore's company, 1776-79.
Aikins, Robert, resided in Bedford County, 1790.
Alcorn, James, transferred to Invalid Corps, July,
1780.
Allen, William, deserted August, 1778.
Anderson, Johnson.
Anderson, William, resided in Mercer County, 1800.
Anderson, George, resided in Westmoreland County,
1835, aged eighty-four.
Armstrong, George.
A.skins, George.
Askins, James, deserted August, 1778.
Atkins, Isaac.
Sergeants.
Baker, Michael, died in Greene County, 111., Sept. 13,
1831.
Blake, William.
Byels, Joseph, of Piggott's company.
Fifer.
Bond, John.
Privates.
Bacon, John.
Bannon, Jeremiah.
Beard, John, deserted August, 1778.
Berkett, Robert.
Berlin, Isaac, died in Crawford County, June 16, 1831, ,
aged seventy-six.
Berry, Michael.
Bess, Edward, Van Swearingen's company, 1776-7
also in Crawford's campaign ; died in Washing-
ton County, July 17, 1822, aged seventy-seven.
Bl.ike, Luke William.
Blake, Nicholas, enlisted August, 1776.
Blakeney, Gabriel, private at Long Island ; lieutenant
in Flying Camp ; captured at Fort Washington;
resided in Washington County, 1817.
Bodkin, James.
Booth, George.
Boveard, James, Kilgore's company, 177G-79 ; died in
1808, in East Buffalo township. Union County.
Boyer, Oziel, killed in action.
Brandon, Michael.
Bright, John [e]. :
Bristo, Samuel.
Broadstock, William.
Brothers, Mattliew.
Brown, John, resided in Armstrong County, 1825.
Burbridge, Thomas, Kilgore's company ; taken De-
cember, 1780 ; in captivity tliree years ; resided
in Westmoreland County, 1805.
Burket, Christopher.
Burns, Pearce, transferred to Invalid Corps, August,
1777.
Byan, David, August, 1777-79; Capt. Piggott's com-
pany; served at Saratoga under Van Swear-
ingen ; went West with regiment, 1778 ; at the-
building of Fort Mcintosh and Fort Laurens;
Pennsylvania pensioner, 1813.
Sergeants.
Cavenaugh, Barney.
Cheselden. Edward.
THE REVOLUTION.
81
Clarke, James.
Cooper, William, of Kilgore's company.
Crawford, Robert, Aug. 20, 1776-Sept. 15, 1779; re-
sided in Venango County, 1825.
Fifer.
Clark, David (e), Capt. Kilgore's company, April,
1777.
Privates.
Cain, Bartholomew.
Cain, John.
Calahan, John.
Call, Daniel, resided in Westmoreland County, 1821.
Campbell, George, Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland
Co., 1786.
Carr, Daniel.
Carrenger, Martin.
Carswell, Joseph.
Carty, Richard.
Casevey, Patrick, deserted August, 1778.
Castile, Samuel.
Cavenaugh, John.
Cavenaugh, Patrick, enlisted at Carlisle in Capt.
Huffnagle's company; he saved Gen. Lincoln
from capture by the British in New Jersey;
afterwards express-rider for Gen. Greene; died
in Washington County, April 5, 1823, aged
eighty-three.
Chambers, Andrew.
Chambers, Moses, from Ligonier; deserted August,
1778.
Chriswell, Joseph.
Churchfield, John, enlisted July, 1776; wounded in
the leg in the battle of Germantovvn ; resided in
Westmoreland County, 1835, aged eighty-six.
Clark, Benjamin, Kilgore's company ; wounded at
Bound Brook, 1777 ; also, in 1778, on march to
Fort Mcintosh; resided in Steubenville, Ohio,
1815.
Close, Robert.
Coleman, Joseph.
I Conner, John.
I Connor, Bryan, enlisted July 2, 1777.
I Conway, Felix.
i Cooper, Joseph,' deserted August, 1778; died Jan.
1 16, 1823, in Bedford County, aged sixty-eight.
] Cooper, Leonard, from Maryland; deserted August,
I Cooper, William, Aug. 17, 1776-September, 1779;
I resided in Venango County, 1810.
iCorner, Felix.
ICoveney, Felix.
f'ripps, John.
C^ritrlilow, James, enlisted August, 1776, in Capt.
Moses Carson's company ; served in all the Sara-
toga engagements under Lieut.-Col. Butler; re-
sided in Butler County, 1835, aged seventy-eight.
Crosley, Timothy.
Cruikshank, Andrew, Miller's company, Aug. 17,
1776-September, 1779; resided in Butler County,
1810.
Curtin, John.
Sergeants.
Dennison, James.
Donnalson, William.
Corporal.
Davis, William, died in Muskingum County, Ohio,
in 1834, aged eighty-two.
Privates.
Darragh, John.
Davis, John, died in Holmes County, Ohio, June 7,
1830, aged sixty-four.
Dempey, Thomas.
Dennis, Michael.
Dennis, Thomas, killed in April, 1779.
Dennison, Joseph (<?), transferred to Seventh Regi-
ment
Desperett, Henry.
Dickerson, Henry, enlisted 1776 in Van Swearingen's
company, at Saratoga, etc. ; resided in Washing-
ton County in 1813.
Dickson, William.
Dolphin, Joseph.
Dougherty, James, alias Capt. Fitzpatrick, deserted
August, 1778, and executed for robbery.
Dougherty, Mordecai, brother of above, deserted
August, 1778.
Dowden, John.
Du Kinson, Joseph, killed in action.
Sergeant,
Evans, Arnold (<r).
Drummer,
Edwards, Johtu
Fifer,
Evans, Anthony, promoted to fife-major, Third Penn-
sylvania.
Privates,
Edwards, David [e).
Everall, Charles.
Quartermaster-Sergeant,
Font, Matthew.
Forbes, William.
Fitzgibbons, James.
Sergeants.
Corporal,
Privates.
Faith, Abraham, Capt. Mann's company, Aug. 15,
1776-Xov. 19, 1779; resided in Somerset County
in 1825, aged seventy-four.
82
HISTOKY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
F;iiighey, James, deserted August, 1778.
Finn, James, transferred to Invalid Corps.
Fitzgibbons, David.
Fossbrooke, or Frostbrook, John, resided in Bath
Co., Ky., in 1834, aged one hundred and four.
Fulton, Joseph, July 4, 1776.
Corpora!.
Gladwin, John.
Privates.
G.1lI.^gher, Mii-hael, June 7, 1776; deserted before he
reached the regiment.
Gallagher, J.,hn.
Germain, Henry.
Gibbons, David.
Gibson, Henry.
Gill, William, wounded in hand at Bound Brook ;
resided in Mercer County in 1833, aged eighty-
four.
Girdler, James.
Glenn, Hug-h, killed in action.
Graham, Alexander, deserted August, 1778.
Graham, William, Capt. Kilgore's company ; resided
in Westmoreland County in 1811.
Greenland, James.
Grimes, John.
Guthery, Archibald, killed August, 1779.
Gwyne. Jo;>eph, June 7, 177C ; served three years ; re-
" sided in Greeue County in 1808.
Cor2:ioraI.
Halpen, Joseph.
Privates.
Hamill, Hugli, Finley's company, 1776-79; resided
in Westmoreland County in 1809.
Hancock, Joseph (e), Capt. jMann's company, 1777;
resided in Wayne County, Ind., in 1834, aged
sevi'iity-ii'ven.
Hanl.y, mVIim.'].
Hard'-ty, i il.ailiah, resided in Lawrence County, 111.,
in 1S33, aged seventy-one.
Harman, Conrad, died in Muskingum County, Ohio,
June 9, 1822, aged seventy-five.
Harvey, Samuel.
Hezlip, Rezin, Stokely's company; resided in Balti-
more in 1813.
Hayes, Jacob, from Brandywine, deserted August,
" 1778.
Hayes, Joel, from Brandywine, deserted August,
' 1778.
Hiere, David, deserted August, 1778.
Hoback, Philip, resided in Madison County, Ind., in
1820, aged sixty-four.
Hockle}^ Richard, Capt. Clark's company ; resided in
Westmoreland County in 1813.
Hotten, John, Aug. 2, 1876-Sept. 17, 1779; resided
in Westmoreland County in 1812.
Humbar, Nicholas.
Hunter, Nicholas [e).
Hunter, Robert, John Finley's company; wounded at
Bound Brook and Paoli ; resided in Westmore-
land County in 1808.
Hutchinson, John.
Sergeant.
Jamison, John, Capt. Miller's company; enlisted in
1776, at Kittanning; served three years; resided
in Butler County in 1835, aged eighty-four.
Privates.
Jennings, Benjamin, Sept. 9, 1776-Sept. 9, 1779, in
Kilgore's company; drafted into rifle command;
resided in Somerset County in 1807.
Johnson, Peter (e), resided in Harrison County, Ya.,
in 1829.
Jones, Benjamin, resided in Champaign County,
Ohio, in 1833, aged seventy-one.
Jordan, John, Westmoreland County.
Justice, Jacob, resided in Bedford Countv in 1820.
Sergeant.
Drummer.
Kerns, Robert.
Kidder, Benjamin.
Fifer.
McKinney, or Kenney, Peter, Capt. Clark's company,
1776-79; resided in Butler County in 1835, aged
seventy.
Privates.
Kain, John.
Kairns, Godfrey.
Kean, Thomas, Aug. .23, 1776, Capt. Montgomery's
company ; he w.as an indented servant of William
Raukin.
Kelly, Edward.
Kelly, Roberts.
Kelly, Thomas.
I Kemble, Jacob.
Kerr, Daniel.
Kerr, William, Capt. Miller's company, Aug. 1776-
I Sept. 9, 1779 ; resided in Westmoreland County in
1823.
Kildea, Michael, paid from Jan. 1, 1777-Ang, 1,
1780.
Scrgeant-JIa/or.
Lee, AVilliam, died in Columbiana County, Ohio, Jan.
; 6, 1828, aged eighty-five.
Corporals.
Lewis, Samuel.
Lucas, Henry.
Privates.
Lacey, Lawrence.
Lacount, Samuel.
Landers, David.
Lawless, James.
Lecron, John.
1 Lewis, Willi.im, of Brady's company ; resided in Mor-
I gan County, Ohio, in 1831.
THE REVOLUTION.
Lingo, Henry, resided in Trumbull County, Ohio,
1834, aged seveuty-one.
Long, Gideon, resided in Fayette County, 1835, aged
seventy-nine.
Long, Jeremiah.
Luckey, Andrew, of Westmoreland County ; Miller's
company ; became teamster to Eighth Pennsyl-
vania ; discharged at Valley Forge ; resided in
F.iyette County, 1822, aged sixty-eight.
McClean, ■
McChire, John.
McGregor, John.
Sergcanf-Major.
Sergeants.
Corporals.
McAfee, Matthew.
Mairman, George.
Miller, John, killed in action.
Privates.
McAlly, Edward.
McAnary, Patrick.
MeCarty, Jeremiah.
McCaulley, Edward.
McChristy, Michael, Capt. Van Swearingen's com-
pany, October, 1777.
McClean, Abijah.
McComb, Allen, of Mann's company, 177G-79; re-
sided in Indiana County, 1810.
McConnell, John, of Huffnagle's company, Aug. 28,
1776-Aug. 1779 ; died in Westmoreland County,
Dec. 14, 1834, aged seventy-eight.
McFee, Laughlin, killed in action.
McGill, James.
McGlauglilin, Patrick.
McGowan, Mark, enlisted in 1775, in Capt. Van
Swearingen's company for two years; Aug. 9,
1776, this company was broken up, and he re-
enlisted under the same captain in Eighth Penn-
sylvania, and served three years ; resided in Mer-
cer County, Ky., in 1830.
McGuire, Andrew.
Mclnamey, Patrick.
McKee, John, resided in Bath County, Ky., in 1830.
McKenney, Peter.
McKinney, John, Capt. S. Miller's company ; enlisted
Marcii, 1778.
Ml Kissick, Isaac.
3Irk'issick, James, Miller's company; resided in
Maryland in 1828.
-■\I. Mullen, Thomas, August, 1776-79 ; died in North-
ampton County in 1822.
Martin, George.
1 Maxwell, James, 1776-79, Capt. Montgomery's com-
■ pany ; resided in Butler County in 1822.
\ Mercer, George.
i
Merryman, William.
Miller, Isaac.
Miller, John.
Mitchell, James, Mann's company, 1776-79 ; resided
in Somerset County in 1810.
Mooney, Patrick.
Moore, John.
Moore, William, Capt. Jack's company, November,
1777.
Morrison, Edward.
Morrow, William, transferred to Invalid Corps, Au- "
gust, 1780.
Mowry, Christian.
Murphy, Michael.
Murray, Neal, August, 1776, Miller's company ; taken
at Bound Brook, April 17, 1777 ; released, and re-
joined at Germantown, where he was again taken
and made his escape.
Fifcr.
Ox, Michael.
Sergeants.
Parker, John.
Porter, Robert, resided in Harrison County, Ohio,
1834, aged seventy-one.
Privates.
Paris, Peter, Invalid Corps, Aug. 2, 1779.
Parker, Charles, 1776-79; resided in Armstrong
County, 1818.
Pegg, Benjamin, Piggott's company, Aug. 13, 1776-
September, 1779 ; resided in Miami County, Ohio,
in 1834, aged eighty-two.
Penton, Thomas.
Perry, Samuel, Invalid Corps, September, 1778.
Pettitt, Matthew, resided in Bath County, Ky., 1834,
aged seventy-four.
Phillips, Luke, Aug. 28, 1776.
Phillips, Matthew.
Reed, Samuel.
Bidner, Conrad.
Robinson, Simon.
Rooke, Timothy.
Rourk, Patrick.
Sergeants.
Sample, William.
Smith, John, 1776-Sept. 20, 1779; died in Indiana
County, 1811.
Corporal.
j Swan, Timothy, resided in Trumbull County, Ohio,
in 1834.
Privates.
Seaton, Francis.
Sham, Michael, resided in Rowan County, N. C, in
1834, aged eighty-six.
j Shedacre, Jacob, Finley's company ; killed by the
Indians near Potter's fort, Centre County, July
I 24, 1778 ; had served under Morgan at Saratoga.
Shcdam, Jacob.
I Sheridan, Martin.
84
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Slierlock, Edward, died in Ross County, Ohio, P'eb.
11, 1825, aged sixty-eight.
Shilhammer, Peter, resided in Westmoreland County
in 1S24.
Shuster, Martin.
Simmons, Henry, June 12, 1776, HufTnagle's company.
.Smith, Henry, resided in Rusli County, Ind., in 1834,
aged sixty-nine.
Smith, John, Sr., resided in Frederick County, Va.,
in 18.34, aged ninety.
'Smith, John, 2d, resided in Westmoreland County in
1835.
Smith, John, 3d, from Mifflin County; in Gurry's
company, October, 1777 ; re-enlisted from Third
Pennsylvania, Capt. Cook's; taken and scalped
at Tuscarawas.
Steel, Thomas.
.Stephen, Patrick, Capt. Kilgore's company, October,
1777.
Stewart, Charles.
Stewart, Francis.
Stewart, Samuel.
Stevenson, Samuel.
Stokely, Thomas, August, 1776 ; resided in Washing-
ton County in 1823.
Strajihan, William.
Stubbs, Robert.
Sutton, David.
Swift, John.
Taggert, William, transferred to Invalid Corps, July,
1780.
Tea, .John.
Tliarp, Perry, resided in Marion County, Ky., in 1834.
Turner, William, in Slokely's company, Sept. 17,
1776-79; resided at Connellsville, Fayette Co.,
in 1835, aged eighty-one.
Tweedy, George.
Van Doren, Tiiomas, Finley's company; served at
Saratoga; killed by the Indians near Potter's
fort, Centre County, July 24, 1778.
Vaughan, Joseph, enlisted in Capt. Samuel Moore-
head's company, April 24, 1776, served two years
and six months ; tlien drafted into Capt. Miller's,
and served six months; resided in Half-Moon
township. Centre Co., in 1822, aged sixty-two.
Verner, Peter, Invalid Corps, Aug. 2, 1779.
ScrgciuifK.
Woods, .Tolin, transferred to Invalid Corps.
Wyatt, Thomas, promoted ensign, Dec. 21, 1778;
shoulder-bone broken at Brandywine.
CnrporiiL
Ward, Matthias.
Dr
Wiiitman, John.
Privates.
Henry, 1776-79 ; resided in Cumberland
Waters, Joseph, 1776-1779.
Watson, John, July 4, 1777.
Weaver, Adam, 1776-79, Kilgore's company ; resided
in Westmoreland County in 1821.
Wharton, William, resided in Pendleton County, Ky.,
in 1834, aged eighty-seven.
AVilkev, David, deserted August, 1778.
Wilkie, Edward.
Wilkinson, William.
Williams, John, Invalid Corps, Aug. 2, 1779.
Williams, Lewis, resided in Muskingum County, Ohio,
in 1834, aged ninety-two.
Williams, Thomas, killed in action.
Wilson, George, Capt. HufTnagle's company, October,
1777.
Wilson, William, resided in Trumbull County, Ohio,
in 1820, aged sixty-eight.
Winkler, Joseph.
Wolf, Philip, resided in Bedford County in 1790.
Wyatt, Thomas, promoted sergeant.
Wyllie, Owen.
Wynn, Webster.
Roll of Capt. JoHJf Clabk's Company,
" In a Defacht. from Penn. Line, Commanded by Stephen
Bayard, Esq., Lt. Colo., for the Jfont/is of Feb.,
March, cC- April, 1783."
Captain.
Clark, John.
Lieiitoiants.
Paterson, Gab"'. Bryson, Samuel.
Crawford, John. Everly, Mich'.
jSergeanis.
McCline, John. Blake, Will™.
Baker, Mich'.
Major.
Lee, AV'.
Corporah.
Gladwin, John, McAfee, :Math-.
Jonston, Peter. dis- Marmon, George,
charged March 17, 1783.
Drummers.
Kidder, Benj". Edwards, Jno.
Fifers.
Bond, Jno. Kenny, Peter.
Wagon
County in 1819.
Waine, ^Michael, deserted Au
3t, 1778.
Amberson, Johnston.
Atcbinson, Joseph, d
serted Sept. 7, 1783.
Bigget, Robert.
Boothe, George.
Cardwell, Joseph, d
serted April 1, 1783.
Caringer, Martin.
Privates.
Carty, Rich''.
Ca.steel, Sam'.
Chalmers, And"
Clark, James.
Connor, John.
Conway, Felix.
Cripps, John.
Dinnis, Mich'.
THE REVOLUTION.
85
I Dinnison, James.
i Dixon, Will™.
j Dorougli, John.
I Fossbrook, John.
Gibson, Henry.
Girdler, James.
Harmon, Conrad.
Hoetzley, Richard.
Hutchinson, John.
Jones, Benj".
Kerns, Godfrey.
Kerr, Dan'.
Landers, David.
Lingo, Henry.
Lucas, Henry.
Ma.xwell, James.
McAuly, Edward.
McCristall, Mich'.
McGill, James.
McGuire, Andrew.
Roll op Capt. Samuel Brady's Compaxy,
" Nov> Otpfain John Finley's Company of the Betachm''
from the Penn. Line, in the Service of the United
States of America, commanded by U Col" Stepli"
Bayard, for the months of Feb., March, & April,
1783."
Captains.
Finlev, John.
Mercer, George.
Jliller, Isaac.
Mooney, Patrick.
Jlorrison, Edward.
Murphy, Mich'.
0.\-, Michael.
Parker, Charles.
Rooke, Timothy.
Smith, .John.
Sherlock, Edward, pris-
oner of war ; joined
Feb., 1783.
Steed, James, deserted 27""
March, 1783.
Stuart, Charles.
Tharpe, Perry.
Wliarton, Will".
Willson, Will™.
Winkler, Joseph V.
Brady, Samuel.
Mahon, John.
Fletcher, Simon.
Font, Matthew.
Cheselden, Edwa:
Allison, John.
Evans, Anthony.
Davis, Will™.
Adams, Robert.
Adams, George.
Anderson, George.
Bannon, Jeremiah.
Branon, Michael.
Brothers, Matthew.
Brown, John.
Cain, John.
Callahan, John.
Cavenaugh, Barney.
Lieutenants.
Ward, John.
rtcrniastcr-Serrjca n t.
Sergeants.
Sample, Willian
Porter, Robert.
Fife-Major
Corporals.
Swan, Timothy.
Whitman, John.
Fife
died
rates.
Coleman, Joseph,
June 11, 1783.
Crowley, Timothy.
Dimsey, Thomas.
Dolphin, James.
Evans, Arnold, deserted
June n, 1783.
Everall, Charles.
Fitz Gibbous, David.
Gibbons, David.
Gollacher, John.
Greenland, James.
Grimes, John.
Hanley, Michael.
H-obach, Philip, deserted
June 2d ; joined June
4, 1783.
Jordan, John, discharged
July 1, 1783.
Kelley, Edward.
Lacey, Lawrence.
Lacorn, John.
Martin, George.
McGloughlin, Patrick.
Merryman, W'".
Miller, John.
Mourey, Christian.
Phillips, Matthew.
Roairk, Patrick, died Sept.
2, 1783.
Robinson, Simon.
Sheredeu, Martin.
Sinister, Martin.
Simmonds, Henry.
Smith, John.
Steel, Thomas.
Strephan, William,
Stubbs, Robert.
Sutton, David.
Tea, John.
Terman, Henry.
Ward, Matthias.
Wilkinson, Will"'.
Williams, Lewis.
Winn, Webster.
(faded out), Hugh.
(faded out), Obediah.
John Finley, Capt.
After the form.ation of the military organizations
already mentioned, — viz.: the Eighth Pennsylvania
Regiment, the company which joined Miles' rifle
regiment, and the two "Virginia battalions raised by
Col. Crawford, — and the march of a detachment of two
hundred and forty Westmoreland County militia to
Philadelphia, under command of John Proctor, in
January, 1777,' no other troops were raised in the
Monongahela country for regular service in the Rev-
olutionary armies, though an independent company
was formed by Capt. Moorhead for special duty on
the frontier, and many men were afterwards raised
for expeditions against the Indians during the con-
tinuance of the war with Britain ; but it seems to
have been a fact beyond the possibility of denial that
in the mean time the sentiment of patriotism which
at the commencement of the war was almost uni-
versal among the people west of the Laurel Hill be-
came greatly diminished, if not entirely extinct, with
regard to a large proportion of the inhabitants of
this frontier region.
The existence of this state of feeling, and a partial
reason for it, was noticed by Gen. Brodhead, com-
mandant at Fort Pitt, in a letter written by him on
the 23d of September, 1780, in -which he said, "The
emigrations from this new country to Kentucky are
incredible, and this has given opportunity to dis-
affected people from the interior to purchase and
settle their lands." Again, on the 7th of December
following, the same officer wrote to President Reed,
" I learn more and more of the disaffection of the in-
habitants on this side of the mountains. The king of
England's health is often drank in company." And
he gave it as his opinion, gathered from the observa-
tion of many of his officers, including Col. John Gib-
omp-auieJ i
by Col.
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
son, that "Should the enemy approach this frontier
and offer protection, half the inhabitants would join
them." Afterwards Geu. Irvine (who succeeded Brod-
head as commandant at the fort) wrote: "I am confi-
dent if this post was evacuated, the bounds of Canada
would be extended to the Laurel Hill in a few
weeks."
In the latter part of 1780, Capt. Uriah Springer (a
resident of that part of Westmoreland County which
is now Fayette) was on duty with his company, en-
gaged in the collection of supplies in the Mononga-
hela Valley, at and in the vicinity of Fort Burd,' and
while on this service experienced great trouble from
the opposition and enmity of the people there, as is
shown by the following letter, written to him by the
commandant at Fort Pitt, viz.:
"I have this moment received your favor of yester-
day, and am .-nny Xn timl the people about Redstone
have ii)tentiMii> to rair..- in arms against you. I
believe with vnu tlial there are amongst them many
disallected, and conceive that their jm^t and present
conduct will justify your defending ymir^t'lr l.y every
means in your power. It may yet be doulitlul whether
these fellows will attempt anything against you, but
if you find they are determined you will avoid, as
much as your safety will admit, in coming to action
until you give me a further account, and you may
dejiend upon your receiving succor of infantry and
artillery. I have signed your order for ammunition,
and have the honor to be, etc.
" Daniel Beodhead.
"Capt. L'eiah Steixger."
At that time the officers commanding the few
American troops west of tlie .Vlleghenies had great
ditficulty in oLtaiiiing the supplies luM-e-sary for the
subsistence of their men. On the Ttli of December,
17.S(I, Gen. Brodhead said, in a letter of that date ad-
dressed to Richard Peters, "For a hmg time past I
have had two partio, commanded by lield-otficers, in
the Country t'. iriipii>~ cattle, luit their success has
been .-o Mnall tliat tli>- troops Imve Ire. piently been
without meat loi- several days togetiier, and as those
comnuinds are very expensive, I have now ordered
them in." He also .said that the inhabitants on the
west side of the mountains could not furnish one-half
enough meat to supply the trcjops, and that he had
sent a party of hunters to the Little Kanawha River
to kill buffaloes, "and to lay in the meat until I can
detach a party to bring it in, which eannot be done
before spring." In the letter to Peters, aliove cpioted
from, Brodhead made allusion to the furnishing of
spirits for the use of the troops, and indicated pretty
plainly his preference for imported liquor over tlie
I whisky of Monongahela, viz. : " In oue of your for-
j raer letters you did me the honor to inform me that
his Excellency, the commander-in-chief, had de-
manded of our State seven thousand gallons of ruui,
and now the commissioner of Westmoreland informs
me that he has verbal instructions to purchase that
1 quantity of whisky on this side of the mountains.
I hope we shall be furni.shed with a few hundred gal-
lons of liquor fit to be drank."
EXPEDITION OF COL. LOCIIRY.
In 1780 the Indians beyond the Ghio had grown
alarmingly hostile and aggressive. Incited to their
bloody work by their Briti.sh allies in the North-
west, they were almost constantly ou the war-path,
crossing the Ohio at various points, making in-
cursions into the frontier settlements east of that
river, and assuming, in general, an attitude so menac-
ing to the white inhabitants west of the Laurel
Hill that it was regarded as absolutely necessary
to send out a strong expedition to meet and chasti-e
them in.their own country. Accordingly, with tlii-
object in view, in February, 1781, Gen. Washing-
ton issued orders to Gen. George Rogers Clarke
(who had achieved considerable renown by his suc-
cess in the command of an expedition against the
British posts between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers
three years before) to raise an adequate force and pro-
ceed with it from Pittsburgh to the Falls of the Ohio
at Louisville ; thence to march to the Wabash, for the i
purpose indicated, and also to move, if practicable,
against the British posts on and near Lake Erie.
Clarke was a Virginia partisan, but, willing to en-
list men from Pennsylvania to make up his force, he
at once entered into correspondence with the Execu-
tive Council of this State to obtain its consent to the '
project, which he secured on the recommendation of
Christopher Hays, of Westmoreland County. Under '
this authority Clarke, on the 3d of June, 1781, ad-
dressed the " Council of Otficers" of Westmoreland
to secure their concurrence and assistance. The re-
stdt was that the matter was laid before the people of ■
Westmoreland County at a public meeting held for
the purpose on the 18th of June, which meeting and i
its proceedings were reported as follows : !
" Agreeable to a Publick notice given by Coll. '
Hays to the Principal Inhabitants of the County of
AV'estmoreland to meet at Cap' John McClellen's, ou
the 18'" Day of June, 1781.
" And W/mras, There was a number of the Princi-
pal people met on s" D.ay, and unanimously chose
John Proctor, John Pomroy, Charles Campbell, Sam'l
Moorhead, James Barr, Charles Foreman, Isaac Ma- ,
son [Meason], James Smith, and Hugh Martain a
Committee to Enter into resolves for the Defence of
our frontiers, as they were informed by Chris' Hays,
THE REVOLUTION.
S7
Esq', that their proceedings would be approv" of by
Council.
" 1". Resolved, That a Campaign be carried on with
Genl Clark.
" 2''. Jiesoh-fl, That Genl Clark be furnished with
men out of Pomroy's, Beard's, and Davises Bat-
talion.
"S'"^ lieso/fccl, That Coll. Arch'' Lochry gives
orders to s'' Colls, to raise their quota by Volunteers
or Draught.
"4""'. Resolved, That £6 be advanced to every vol-
luntier that marches under the command of Genl
Clark on the propos'' Campaign.
" 5'". And for the further Incouragement of Volun-
tier.^, that grain be raised by subscription by the Dif-
ferent Companies.
" 6""-''. That Coll. Lochry concil with the Officers of
Virginia respecting the manner of Draughting those
that associate in that State and others.
" 7'". Resolved, That Coll. Lochry meet Genl Clark
and other officers and Coll. Crawford on the 23''
Inst, to confer with them the day of Rendezvouse.
" Sign'' by or""' of Committee,
" John Peoctor, frest."
A meeting of militia officers had previously been
held (June 5th) at the Yohogania County court-
house (near Heath's, on the west side of the Monon-
gahela), at which a draft of one-fifth of the militia of
said county (which, according to the Virginia claim,
included the north half of Washington County, Pa.,
and all of Westmoreland as far south as the centre of
the present county of Fayette) was made for the ex-
pedition. The people, however, believing that the
territory claimed by Virginia as Yohogania County
was really in the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania, denied
the authority of the Virginia officers, and refused to
submit to the draft until the question of jurisdiction
was definitely settled. But the public notice given by
Christopher Hays, as mentioned in the proceedings
of the Westmoreland County meeting, as also his
declaration to the people of Westmoreland and Wash-
ington, that he held in his hands money from the Ex-
ecutive Council to be expended for the protection of
the frontier, had the effect to quiet to a great extent,
though not entirely to allay, the dissatisfaction, and
the work of raising men in the two Pennsylvania
counties (or, as Gen. Clarke expressed it, in Yoho-
gania, Monongahela, and Ohio Counties, Va.) was
allowed to proceed, though not without strong protest.
The commander (under Gen. Clarke) of the men
raised in Westmoreland was Col. Archibald Lochry,
lieutenant and prothonotary of the county. On the
4th of August' he reported by letter to President
; departure Col. Locliry wrote Preside!
follows :
" MiEAiLES' Mill, Westmoeelaxii Cohxtt,
" August 4tli, 1781.
"HoxornED Sin,— Yesterday the Express arrived with your Excell-
ency's Lettei-s, whicli does singular Honour to our County to have the
Reed that he had left Westmoreland with Capt.
Thomas Stokely's company of Rangers and about
fifty volunteers, on liis way to join Gen. Clarke at the
rendezvous at Fort Henry (now Wheeling). After
liis departure Lochry's force was augmented to about
one hundred and ten men, in four small companies,
including those of Capts. Thomas Stokely,' John
Boyd, and Shearer (mentioned in some accounts as
Shannon), and a small body of horsemen under Capt.
Campbell.
Gen. Clarke had had his headquarters at Fort
Henry for several weeks, and from this base he pros-
ecuted his recruiting (or rather drafting) in the
Monongahela Valley. This business he carried on
with great vigor, and as it appears with very little
leniency towards those (and they were many) who
were inclined to deny the jurisdiction of Virginia.'
One of the many complaints made against his con-
duct in this particular was the following from James
Marshal, lieutenant of Washington County, em-
bodied in a letter written by him to President Reed,
Aug. 8, 1781, viz. :
"... As the manner in which the general and
his underlings have treated the people of this and
Westmoreland Counties has been so arbitrary and
unprecedented, I think it my duty to inform your
Excellency the particulars of a few facts. The first
instance was with one John Harden, in Westmore-
land, who, with a number of others, refused to be
drafted under the government of Virginia, alleging
they were undoubtedly in Pennsylvania, and declared
if that government ordered a draft they would obey
cheerfully, and accordingly elected their officers and
made returns thereof to Col. Cook. After this the
general, with a party of forty or fifty liorsemen, came
to Harden's in quest of him to hang him, as the gen-
eral himself declarecf ; but not finding the old gen-
tleman took and tied his son, broke open his mill, fed
away and destroyed upwards of one hundred and fifty
bushels of wheat, rye, and corn, killed his sheep and
npprohation of Council in our undertakings, and for which I hcg leave
"I am now on my Blanh
and about Fifty Vol II iit.-i s h
Fort Ilei
i it wu
. SloUely's Company of Rangers
unly. We shidl join Gen. Chii-k
•re His Army has lay for some
liave the Boats there, the Water
I'itt
I Volu
■Rii
some Insinuations been hindered from going,
very ill supplyed with Pi ovisious, as there has been no possil.ility uf I'lo-
curing Meat, particularly as our Money has not been in the be.st Credit.
AVe have generally had Flour, but as I have kept the men constantly
Scouting it U hard for them to be without Meat. . . ."—Pa. Arch., 1781-
83, p. .■533.
2 Capt. Thomas Stokely was a resident of that part of Westmoreland
which h.ad then recently been erected into Washington Count •. The
greater part of bis men, liowever, were from the east side of the Monon-
3 Many of those people who had l>ecn willing and anxious for tho
establishment of Virginia's claim, so th.at they might purchase their
lands from her at one-tenth part of the price demanded by the Pennsyl-
vania Land Officf, were now quite as ready to deny her right to diniand
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
hojs, and lived away at Mr. Harden's expense in
tliat manner for two or three days; declared his estate
forleited, but graciously gave it to his wife; formed
an article in which he bound all the inhabitants he
could laj- hands on or by any means prevail upon
to come in to him ; under the penalty of ten months
in the regular army, not to oppose the draft."
President Reed, in his reply' to Col. Marshal's
complaint, said, —
"... But while we utterly disapprove the irreg-
ularities and hardships which have been exercised
by him [Geu. Clarke] towards the inhabitants, we
cannot help fearing that too many, in consequence of
the unsettled state of boundaries, avail themselves of
a pretense to withhold tlicir services from the publick
at a time wlien they are most wanted, and when an
exertion would not only serve the country, but pro-
mote their own security. We cannot help also ob-
serving tliat, by letters received from the principal
gentlemen in Westmoreland, it seems evident they
approve of Gen. Clarke's expedition, and that the
lieutenants of both States united in the plan of raising
three hundred men for that service. As the state of
publick affairs Iiad not admitted your forming the
militia sufiiciently to concur in these measures, we
concluded that these resolutions would also include
your county, and even now are at a loss to account
for the dilTereut opinions entertained on the point by
the people of Westmoreland and AVashington Coun-
ties."
In a letter by Christopher Hays, of Westmoreland,
and Thomas Scott, of Washington County, to Presi-
dent Reed, dated " Westmoreland, August 15, 1781,"
they said, "... The truth of the matter is, the
General's Expedition has been wished well, and vol-
unteers to the service have been Incouraged by all
with whom we corispond; but we have heartily repro-
bated the General's Standing over these two counties
with armed force, in order to dragoon the Inhabitants
into obedience to a draft under the laws of Virginia,
or rather under the arbitrary orders of the officers of
that Government, without any orders from Virginia
for that purpose, and this is really the part the Gen-
eral hath acted, or rather the use which has been
made of him in this country."
" With resjiect to Gen. Clarke's Proceedings," said
President licad, in liis reply to the above, "we can
only say that l.c l;a- no authority from us to draft
Jlilitia, mucli les^ to cm rrise those acts of Distress
which y.m havo hinted at, and which (ither letters
more partiri:':rlv nimuerate. His Expedition ap-
pears to us lav(jraMe f.r the Fn.ntieiv-, as carrying
Hostilities into the Indian Country, nitlier tlian "rest-
ing totally on the defen-ive. We liiid tlie ( lent!, men
of Westmoreland, howt'ver dillerent in otlur Things,
to have agreed in Opinion that his Expedition de-
served encouragement. ..."
Col. Lochry, with his force, increased to about one
hundred and ten men, proceeded to the rendezvous at
Fort Henry, as before mentioned, expecting there to
join Gen. Clarke ; but on arriving there he found
that the general had gone down the river the day be-
fore, leaving Major Crayeroft with a few men and a
boat for the transportation of the horses, but without
either provisions or ammunition, of which they had
but a very insufficient supply. Clarke had, however,
promised to await their arrival at the mouth of the
Kanawha; but on reaching that point they found
that he had been obliged, in order to prevent desertion
among his men, to proceed down the river, leaving
only a letter affixed to a pole directing them to follow.
Their provisions and forage were nearly exhausted ;
there was no source of supply but the stores conveyed
by Clarke ; the river was very low, and as they were
unacquainted with the channel, they could not hope to
overtake the main body. Under these embarrassing
circumstances Col. Lochry dispatched Capt. Shearer
with four men in a small boat, with the hope of over- :
taking Gen. Clarke and of securing supplies, leaving
his (Shearer's) company under command of Lieut.
Isaac Anderson, Before Shearer's party had pro-
ceeded far they were taken prisoners by Indians, who
also took from them a letter to Gen. Clarke, informing
him of the condition of Lochry's party.
About the same time Lochry captured a party of
nineteen deserters from Clarke's force. These he
afterwards released, and they immediately joined the
Indians. The savages had before been apprised of
the expedition, but they had supposed that the forces
of Clarke and Lochry were together, and as they knew
that Clarke had artillery, they had not attempted an
attack. But now, by the capture of Shearer's party,
with the letters, and by the intelligence brought to
them by the deserters, they for the iirst time learned
of the weakness and exposed situation of Lochry's com-
mand, and they at once determined on its destruction.
Collecting in force some miles below the mouth
of the Great Jliami River, they placed their prison-
ers (Shearer's party) in a conspicuous position on the
north shore of the Ohio, near the head of Lochry's
Island, with the promise to them that their lives
should be spared if they would hail Lochry's men as
they came down and induce them to land. But in
the mean time. Col. Lochry, wearied by the slow
progress made, and in despair of overtaking Clarke,'
landed on the 24th of August, at about ten o'clock iu
the morning, on the same shore, at an inlet which
has since borne the name of Lochry's Creek," a short
distance above the place where the Indians were await-
ing them. At this point the horses were taken on shore
and turned loose to feed. One of the men had killed
a buffalo, and all, except a few set to guard the
= Tliis ciDck eniplips into the Ohio, nine or ten miles below the mouth
of the ^liami. Lochry's Island, near the head of which the prisonera
were jilaceil by the Indi:nis to decoy their friends on shore, is three miles
THE EEVOLUTION.
89
j horses, were engaged around the fires which they
I had kindled in preparing a meal from it. Suddenly
a volley blazed forth on them from a wooded bluff,
' and simultaneously a large force of Indians appeared
I and rushed to attack them. The men, thus surprised,
seized their arms and bravely defended themselves as
long as their ammunition lasted. Then they attempted
to escape by their boats, but these were unwieldy, the
water was very low, and tlie party, too much weakened
! to avail themselves of this method of escape, and
[being wholly unable to make further resistance, sur-
j rendered to the savages, who at once proceeded to the
j work of massacre. They killed Col. Lochry and sev-
' eral others of the prisoners, but were restrained from
further butchery by the timely arrival of their chief,'
who declared that he disapproved of their conduct,
but said he was unable wholly to control his men,
who were eager to revenge the acts of Col. Brodhead
against the Indians on the Muskingum a few months
before.
The party which Col. Lochry surrendered to the
Indians consisted of but sixty-four men, forty-two
having been killed. The Indians engaged numbered
over three hundred of various tribes, but principally
those of the Six Nations. They divided the plunder
among them in proportion to the numbers of each
tribe engaged. On the next day the prisoners were
inarched to the Delaware towns, where they were
met l)y a party of British and Indians, who said they
were on their way to the Falls of the Ohio to attack
Gen. Clarke. The prisoners were separated and
taken to different places of captivity at the Indian
towns, and there they remained (excepting a few who
escaped) until the close of the Revolutionary strug-
gle. After the preliminary articles of peace had been
signed (Nov. 30, 1782) they were ransomed by the
British officers in command of the Northern posts
and were sent to Canada,' to be exchanged for British
1 It Ims been BtHted that the chief in command of this Indian party
vras tlie famuns Cupt. Brant, and tliat he afterwards professed mucli re-
gret for tlie massncro of Lochry and his men.
~ TIio following memorial of escaped prisoners helonging to Col. Loch-
rj-'s command was presented to the Supreme Executive Council, ad-
dressed to President Bloore (and indorsed July 3, ITSJ), viz.:
"Sir, — We, tlio subscrihers, Inhabitants of llie County of Westmore-
land, beg leave to represent to your Excellency and Council that we had
the misfortune to be made prisoners of by tlie Indians on the 24th of
August last and carried to Montreal, and there kept in close confine-
ment till the 2Glh of May last, when we were so fortunate as to make
uur escape, and after a long and fatigueing nuirch tlirough the Wilder-
Ae got to this City yesterday at three o'Clock. As we are at present
destitute of both Money and Cloatlies, without which we cmnot go
home, We pray your Exc'y and Council to take our case into Considera-
tion, and order us our i-ay from the lime we were made pri-oncrs to
this. We were under the comnuind of Colo. Longhcry when taken, and
have a list of all those, both officers and privates, who are now prisoners
of that parly, which, together with Ruch information as is in our power,
e ready to give for the satisfaction of your Exc'y and Council.
"We have the Honour to be
" Your Excellency's nble Serv"
"Isnc Andeksox,
*' Lieut. Capt, Sheerey^s Ompany Rangers.
"ElCHAnO W.ILI.ACE,
"Xn(c Qttnrleriii'tstrr to Colonct Lnchiij."
prisoners in the hands of the Americans. In the
spring of 1783 they sailed from Quebec to New York,
and from there returned home by way of Philadel-
phia, having been absent twenty-two months. But
more than one-half of those who went down the
Ohio with Col. Lochry never again saw their homes
in the Monongahela and Youghiogheny "Valleys.
Besides the command of Col. Lochry, there also
went out in Clarke's expedition another company of
men raised in Westmoreland County (principally in
that part which is now Fayette), under command of
Capt. Benjamin Whaley,^ the company being largely
recruited by Lieut, (afterwards colonel) James PauU.
This force embarked in flat-boats on the Mononga-
hela at Elizabethtown, and being joined at Pitts-
burgh by Capt. Isaac Craig's artillery, proceeded with
other troops down the river to the appointed rendez-
vous at the Falls of the Ohio, arriving there late in
the month of August. But the other forces failing to
assemble at that jjoint the expedition was abandoned,
and Capts. Whaley and Craig, with their commands,
returned on foot through the wilderness of Kentucky
and Virginia, encountering innumerable perils and
hardships, and being more than two months on the
homeward journey. Their arrival, as also the terrible
disaster to Col. Lochry's command, was announced by
Gen. Irvine (who had in the mean time succeeded
Col. Brodhead in the command of the Western De-
partment) in a letter to Gen. Washington, dated Fort
Pitt, Dec. 2, 1781, as follows :
"... Capt. Craig, with the detachment of artillery,
returned here on the 26th inst. [ult?J ... A Col.
Lochry, of Westmoreland County, Pa., with about one
hundred men in all, composed of volunteers and a
company raised by Pennsylvania for the defense of
that county, started to join Gen. Clarke, who, it is
said, ordered him to unite with him (Clarke) at the
mouth of the Miami, up which river it was previously
designed to proceed ; but the general, having changed
his plan, left a small party at the Miami, with direc-
tions to Lochry to follow him to the mouth of the
"We, the Subscribers, would beg leave to represent the Situation of
Honery Dungan, Serg« of Captn John Boyd's Company, and Robert Wat-
son, .Tuhn M:un. and Mich. Han-, .,f Capt. T!..,s. Stok.dy's Compy of
(Signed) " John Bovn,
" O'pfii "/ Hungers S. P.
"Thomas Sroiir.i.v,
" Capt. of Hangers S. P."
—reunn. Arrl,., 17S1-8.'?, pp. T33-34.
Among the prisoners taken from Lorhi v's command by the Indians
were Melchoir Baker, Eohert Bi-hmiI i !,it ,. i mI Basil Brownflehl),
both of Fayette County; also p. in- M .r - II known in Union-
3 Father of Capt- James Whal-.y. I t W.y ti. ( >,in,t\, who was an officer
in service in the war of 1S12-13.
90
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Falls. Sundry accounts agree that this party, and all
of Lochry's troops to a man, were waylaid by the In-
dians and British (for it is said they had artillery),
and all killed or taken, not a man escaping, either to
join Gen. Clarke or to return home. When Capt.
Craig left the general he would not be persuaded but
that Lochry with his party had returned home. These
misfortunes throw the people of this county into the
greatest consternation, and almost despair, particularly
Westmoreland County; Luchry's party being all the
best men of their frontier. At the present they talk
of flying early in the spring to the eastern side of tlie
mountains, and are daily flocking to me to inquire
what support they may expect."
CHAPTER XL
THE UEVOLUTIOX— (0,>.(/,nie-7).
■WiHiiinison'fi E.xpcilitiou— Cmwfurd's Sandusky Expedilion.
The unsuccessful campaign of Gen. Clarke down
the Ohio was followed by two expeditions sent from
AVcstern Pennsylvania against some settlements or
villases on the ]\Iuskingum occupied by Indian con-
verts, usually kmiwn as the Moravian Indians.
r>otli thcsu rx]icilitious were under command of
Col. David Williamson, of Washington County, and
were made up of volunteers IVnm the region between
the Monongahela and i Miio Kiveix. It is not known
or believed that any mm iVom what is now Fayette
County served in these campaigns under Williamson,
and tliey are only noticed here because they were
connected in smne degree with Col. Crawford's Indian
campaign, which immediately followed them, and of
which a more cxtomled narrative will be given.
Williamson's tirst expedition, consisting of be-
tween seventy-five and one hundred men, went out
late in the fall of 1781. The reason for this move-
ment against the peaceable Moravian Indians was
that many of the frontiei-men believed, or professed
to believe, tliat tliey (the Moravians) were .secretly in
league witli the warlike savages who lived farther to
the west; that even if they did not fake active part
in t!ie tiv.iuenl raids and Imtcheries, they did at least
give shelter, sulisisiencc, ami information to the
Shawanese and Wyandnt warriors, and some even
believed that the Mnravians themselves mingled with
the war-parties and wielded the knife and tomahawk.
Williamson, in this expedition, did not intend to
use lire ami sw.ird, but to induce the Indians of the
Moravian towns to remove farther from the Ohio, or,
if he failed to acc(nn|ili>h this, to take them all as pris-
oners to I'ort Pitt. With this intention he moved his
force rapidly towards their towns on the Muskingum.
I!ut ill ill' 1111:111 time he had been forestalled in his
projected work by a large party of the hostile In-
dians who charged the Moravians with being in
league with the whites, and on this plea liad visited
their towns, broken them up, driven the people away 1
to Sandusky, and carried the white Moravian mis-;
sionaries residing among them, prisoners to Detroit. 1
On his arrival at the towns, Williamson found :
them deserted, except by a small party of the Jlora-
vians, who had been driven away, but who had been
allov.-ed by their captors to return for the purpose of
gathering some corn which had been left standing in •
the fields near the villages. This party he took pris-
oners and marched them to Fort Pitt, where, however,
they were soon after set at liberty by Gen. Irvine, the <
commandant.
The second expedition led by Col. AVilliamson
against the Moravian settlements was made up, on the
frontier in the latter part of February, and completed
its bloody work in March, 1782. It was composed !
of volunteers (mostly mounted) from the country
west of the Monongahela,' but no lists of their names
or places of residence have been preserved, a fact
which is not strange in view of the odium which has
justly attached to the expedition and its barbarous
work during the century which has followed its exe-
cution.
In the winter of 1781-82 about one hundred and
fifty of the Moravian Indians (including many women
and children), who had been driven awaj' from their
towns in the preceding autumn, were permitted byv
the Wyandot chiefs to return to them to secure the
corn which was still left in the fields there, and to
make preparations for a new crop. The kind manner
in which Gen. Irvine had treated their people who
had been carried as prisoners to Fort Pitt the previous
fall had reassured them, so that they came back to
the villages without much fear of violence from the
! whites east of the Ohio.
The weather in the month of February had been
remarkably fine, so that war-parties of Indians from
Sandusky had been able to move earlier than usual,
and had committed many depredations in the white
settlements. As these inroads had occurred so early
in the season it was generally believed by the settlers
that the hostile parties had not come all the way from
the Sandusky towns, but that the outrages were either
committed by Moravians or by hostile Indians from
the west who had been sheltered by them, and had
1 Stunc, in liis "Life of Brant," ii. 220, says, "A liand of lietwcen
one and two liuiulred men from tlie settlements of tlie Monon^aliclu
t'lrned ont in quest of tlie marauders [tlioso wlio had committed atrocN
lies on tlie fioiilier east of tlie Oliio, and part of whom were supposed
to lie the Moravians], IhirsUng for vengeance, under tlie conmmnd of
Col. David Williamson."
On page 143 of "Contributions to American History," published by
the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, is found the following :" Itt
I^Iareli, ITsj. .me liiiiidreil and sixty militiamen living upon the Monon-
gatiil.L - : :: :: i, - I i.k Id the Bluskingum, in order to destroy three
THE KEVOLUTIOX.
inade the Muskiugum settlements their base of oper- other houses. This done they went to the other
lations. It was declared that in either case the blame
was chargeable on the Moravians, and as a consequence
jthe frontiersmen resolved to destroy them. The hor-
Irible story of the manner in which this was accom-
plished by 'Williamson's men is told in the Pennsyl-
vania Archives, 1781-83, page 524, as follows:
"Eelation of what Frederick Linebach was told by
two of his Neighbours living near Delaware River,
above Easton, who were just returned from the Mo-
nongahela :
That some time in February one hundred & sixty
Men, living upon Monaungahela set off on Horse-
back to the Muskingum, in order to destroy Three
Indian Settlements, of which they seemed to be sure
of being the Touns of some Enemy Indians. After
coming nigh to one of the Touns they discovered
some Indians on both sides of the River Muskingum.
They then concluded to divide themselves in Two
parties, the one to cross the River and the other to
attack those Indians on this side. When the party
got over the River they saw one of the Indians coming
up towards them. They laid themselves flat on the
ground waiting till the Indian was nigh enough, then
of them shot the Indian and broke his arm ; then
three of the Militia ran towards him with Toma-
hawks ; when they were yet a little distance from
him he ask'd them why they had fired at him ; he was
Minister Shebnshch's (John Bull's) Son, but they
took no notice of what he said, but killed him on the
Spot. They then surrounded the field, and took all
the other Indians Prisoners. The Indians told them
that they were Christians and made no resistance,
n-hen the Militia gave them to understand that they
Qiust bring thou as Prisoners to Fort Pitt they seemed
to be very glad. They were ordered to prepare them-
selves for the Journey, and to take all their Effects
along with them. Accordingly they did so. They
ere asked how it came they had no Cattle ? They
inswered that the small Stock that was left them had
Deen sent to Sandusky.
" In the Evening the Militia held a Council, when
he Commander of the Militia told his men that he
.vould leave it to their choice either to carry the In-
lians as Prisoners to Fort Pitt or to kill them ; when
:hey agreed that they should be killed. Of this Res-
olution of the Council they gave notice to the In-
lians by two Messengers, who told them that as they
lad said they were Christians they would give them
:ime this night to prepare themselves accordingly.
Hereupon the Women met together and sung Hymns
& Psalms all Night, and so likewise did the Men, and
vept on singing as long as there were three left. 'In
he morning the Militia chose Two houses, which
hey called the Slaughter Houses, and then fetched
he Indians two or three at a time with Ropes about
heir Necks and dragged them into the Slaughter
louses, where they knocked them down ; then they
let these Two houses on Fire, as likewise all the
Towns and set fire to the Houses, took their plunder,
and returned to the Monaungahela, where they held a
Vendue among themselves. Before these Informants
came away it was agreed that 600 men should meet
on the 18th of March to go to Sandusky, which is
about 100 Miles from the Muskingum."
The number of Moravian Indians killed was re-
ported by Williamson's party on their return at.
eighty-eight, but the white Moravian missionaries in
their account gave the number of the murdered ones
as ninety-six, — sixty-two adults, male and female, and
thirty-four children.
The result of this expedition gave great mortifica-
tion and grief to Gen. Irvine, who tried, as far as lay
in his power, to suppress all accounts of the horrible
details. By those who were engaged in the bloody
work it was vehemently asserted that their action
was generally approved by the people of the frontier
settlements; but it is certain that the statement was
unfounded. Col. Edward Cook, of Cookstown (now
Fayette City), the county lieutenant of Westmore-
land (who had succeeded the unfortunate Col. Lochry
in that office in December, 1781), in a letter addressed
by him to President Moore, dated Sept. 2, 1782, ex-
pressed himself in regard to this Moravian massacre
as follows:
"... I am informed that you have it Reported
that the Massacre of the Moravian Indians Obtains
the Approbation of Every man on this side of the
Mountains, which I assure your Excellency is false;
that the Better Part of the Community are of Opinioa
the Perpetrators of that wicked Deed ought to be
Brought toCondeiu Punishment; that without some-
thing is Done by Government in the Matter it will
Disgrace the Annals of the United States, and be an
Everlasting Plea and Cover for British Cruelty."
And the testimony of a man of the character and
standing of Col. Edward Cook is above and beyond
the possibility of impeachment.
CRAWFORD'.S SANDUSKY EXPEDITIOX.
Even before the disbandment of the volunteers
composing Williamson's expedition the project had
been formed for a new and more formidable one to
be raised to inarch against the Indian towns at San-
dusky, the headquarters of the hostile tribes that
were so constantly and persistently depredating the
frontier settlements east of the Ohio. INIention of
such a project is found in Linebach's "Relation" (be-
fore quoted), where he says, "It was agreed that six
hundred men should meet on the 18th of March to
go to Sandusky. . . ." Whether this was the incep-
tion of the plan or not, it is certain that immediately
afterwards it was known to, and favorably entertained
by, nearly all the people living west of tlie Laurel
Hill.
As a matter of course, the first step to be taken was
to lay the matter before the commandant at Fort
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Pitt, Gen. Irvine, to secure his countenance and
approbation. Tliat this was successfully accora- I
plished is shown by the following extract from a
letter written by the general to President Moore of
the Council, dated Fort Pitt, May 9, 1782, viz. :
" A volunteer expedition is talked of against San-
dusky, which, if well conducted, may be of great ser- j
vice to this country; if they behave well on this oc-
casion it may also in some measure atone for the
barbarity they are charged with at Muskingum.
They have consulted me, and shall have every coun- I
tenance in my power if their numbers, arrangements, '
etc., promise a prospect of success." There is in the
tone of this letter an evident resolve on the part of
the general that this new expedition should be very
differL-iit in cliaracter from that which had so recently
and so barlxirou^ly executed vengeance against the !
unresisting Moravians; and this was afterwards made
still, more apparent by his determined opposition to
Col. Williamson .as commander. !
The direction and control of the projected expedi- ^
tion was, of course, with Gen. Irvine, as the command-
ing oflBcer of the deiiarlment. "It was as carefully
considered and as authoritatively planned as any
militarv enterprise in the West during the Revolution.
As a distinct undertaking, it was intended to be effect-
ual in ending the troubles upon the western frontiers
of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Its promoters were
not only the principal military and civil officers in
the Western Department, but a large proportion of
the best-known and most influential private citizens."
According to the plan of the expedition, it was to be
made up of volunteers, each one of whom was to
equip himself with a horse, arms, and supplies; and
it was o-iven out, and not doubted, that the State of
Pennsylvania would reimburse all who might sustain
losses in the campaign. Great exertions were made
to induce men to volunteer, and the result was a
rapid recruitment. IMauy who were willing to serve
in the expedition were unable to equip themselves
for a campaign in the Indian country, but in nearly
all such cases some friend was found who would
loan a horse or furnish supplies. The dangerous j
and desperate nature of the enterprise was fully un- '
derstood, yet such enthusiasm was exhibited in all '
the settlements that in the early part of May the ,
number of men obtained was regarded as sufficient <
for the successful accomplishment of the purjjoses of ;
the campaign.
The volunteers composing the expedition were
nearly all from the country then comprised in the
counties of Westmoreland and Washington. Of those
raised in the former county many were from the vi-
cinity of Uniontown and Georges Creek, and from
the valleys of the Youghiogheny and Redstone.
These collected at Redstone Old Fort, where they
were joined by men from the settlements lower down
the Monongahela and Youghiogheny. Crossing the
:\Ionongahela at the mouth of Dunlap's Creek, they
proceeded northwestwardlj', receiving considerable
accessions to their numbers from the settlements on
Ten-Mile and at Catfish.' From the latter point they
moved on through Washington County and across
what is now known as the Pan Handle of West Vir-
ginia (where their numbers were still further aug-
mented) to the Ohio River, at a point on its left bank
opposite Mingo Bottom,- the appointed rendezvous of
the expedition, where the volunteers had been directed
to assemble on the 20th of May.
The enthusiasm in favor of the expedition was so
great in the settlements and among the volunteers
that as early as the 15th of the month a great propor-
tion of them had made all their arrangements^ and
were on their way to the place of meeting. But they
did not all arrive at the time appointed, and it was not
until the morning of the 24th that the last of the vol-
unteers had crossed from the Virginia side to the
rendezvous. When, on the same day, the forces were
mustered on the Mingo Bottom, it was found that four
hundred and eighty * mounted men were present,
ready and eager for duty. ^ Of this number fully
three hundred were from Washington County, while
of the remainder the greater part were from the terri-
tory of the present county of Fayette, only a compar-
atively small number having been raised in the other
parts of Westmoreland, and about twenty in the Pan
Handle of Virginia,"
Following is a list of men from what is now Fay-
ette County who accompanied the expedition. The
icat of WiLsliiiigton Coiintj, Pa.
J "CM Miiigu Town," is on the
> aud a Lair miles below SIcuben
1 Xuw Wusliiugton, the count
-Mingo Buttoui, the .site of
bank of the Ohio Kiver, about 1
Ohio.
3 Bntterfield, in his " Expedition agjiiiist Sandusky," s.njs, " It is a tra-
dition — nay, au established fact — that many, aside from the ordinary ar-
i-iuigemenls necessary for a month's absence (not so much, however,
from a presentiment of disaster as from that prudence wliich careful and
thoughtful men are prone to exercise), executed deeds 'iu consideration
of love and affectiou,' and nniny witne^es w*ere called in to subscribe
to * last wills and testaments.* " The commander of the cxpeditiou, Col.
Crawford, executed his will before departing on the fatal journey to the
Wya
' Lieut. John Rose (usually mentioned in accounts of the expedition
M"j. Itose), an aide-de-camp of Gen. Irvine, who had been detailed for
3 same duty with the commander of this expedition, wrote to the gen-
ii ou the evening of the 24111 from Mins;M ll.It.ni, and in the letter ho
d, '*0ur number is actually four hun.i[ii ir.i . ij i\ ir . n " Tiiiswas
nore favorable result than had been i,,', ; >: i- :, wu tiy a let-
■ written three days before (May 21sl( l . .,, ., \\,i.- _;,,i, hy Gen.Ir-
. the 1
'The\
: tills d
at Mingo Bottom, all on horseback, with thirty days' pi-ovisions. . . . U
tluir number exceeds three hundred I am of opiniou they nuiy succeed,
as their march will be so rapid they will probably, iu a great degree,
effect a surprise."
" "All were in high spirits. Everywhere around there was a jdeasur-
able excitement. Jokes were bandied and sorrows at parting with loved
ones at home quite forgotten, at least could outward appearances be relied
upon. Nevertheless furtive glances up the western hillsides into tbo.
deep woods kept alive in the minds of some the dangerous purpose ofall^
this bustle and activity."— ftiHern'i-dr" Bulorical AccouiU o/ the Exped'f
lion ti,jaiiiHl gmidiisli/ uiijer O't. ^\^illUlm Orair/oril.
c Col. Marshal, of Washington County, in a letter addressed to Gon.
Irvine, dated May 29, 17S2, claimed that of the 4S0 men composing thS'
forces of the expedition ;i20 were from his county, 2C from Ohio County,;
'\'a., and the remainder (or, as he said, about 13M) from the county of
THE EEVOLUTION.
93
list (which is not claimed to be a complete one, but
which certainly embraces the greater part of those
who went from this county) is made up from various
sources, but principally from the minutes of a " Court
of Appeal" (a military tribunal) held at various times
in the spring and summer of 1782 at Uniontown,
before Alexander McClean, sub-lieutenant of the
countv, viz. :
James Collins.
Abraham Plunket.
John Alton.
JIoscs Smith.
Thomas Patton.
Reuben Kemp.
Barnabas Walters.
John Patrick.
Josiah Rich.
Jlichael Andrews.
Peter Patrick.
Thomas Ross.
Isaac Prickett.
William Ross.
Jeremiah Cook.
James Waits.
Thomas Carr.
Joshua Reed.
Richard Clark.
Silvanus Barnes.
George McCristy.
Joseph Moore.
John Collins.
George Scott.
Edward Thomas.
Alexander McOwen.
Obadiah Stillwell.
Levi Bridgewater.
Jonas Same.
Matthias Neiley.
George Pcarce.
Abraham White.
James Clark.
John Lucas.
Jeremiah Gard.
Daniel Harbaugh.
James Paull.
John Rodgers.
John Sherrard.
John Crawford.
Uriah Springer.
Christopher Beeler.
John Smilie.
Michael Frank.
James Wood.
James Rankin.
Edward Hall. '
James Downard.
Zachariah Brashears.
Henry Coxe.
John Chadwick.
John Hardin, Jr.
George Robins.
Dennis Callaghan.
Thomas Kendall.
Joseph Huston.
Crisley Cofraan.
Jacob Weatherholt.
John Jones.
John Walters.
Charles Hickman.
Henry Hart.
Caleb Winget.
Webb Hayden.
William Jolliff.
Benjamin Carter.
John Orr.
Daniel Barton.
Providence Mounts.
Philip Smith.
Aaron Longstreet.
William Case.
Richard Hankins.
John White.
James McCoy.
George JlcCoy.
McCaddon.
Nicholas Dawson.
Daniel Canon.
Alexander Carson.
Richard Hale.
Rob&rt Miller.
John Custard.
It was in the afternoon of the 24th of May that the
force was mustered and divided into eighteen com-
panies, their average strength, of course, being about
twenty-six men. They were made thus small on ac-
count of the peculiar nature of the service in which
they were to engage, — skirmishing, firing from cover,
and practicing the numberless artifices and strata-
7
gems belonging to Indian warfare. Another object
gained in the formation of those unusually small
companies was the gathering together of neighbors
and acquaintances in the same command. Fur each
company there were then elected, a captain, a lieu-
tenant, and an ensign. One of the companies was
commanded by Capt. John Beeson,' of Uniontown ;
another by Capt. John Hardin, with John Lucas as
lieutenant ; a third by Capt. Joseph Huston, of Ty-
rone, father of Joseph Huston, afterwards sheriff of
Fayette County ; and a fourth by Capt. John Biggs,-
with Edward Stewart as lieutenant, and William
Crawford, Jr. (nephew of Col. William Crawford), as
ensign. One or two other companies were made up
largely of men from the territory which now forms
the counties of Fayette and Westmoreland, but of
these the captains' names have not been ascertained.
" Among those [captains] chosen," says Butterfield,
in his narrative of the expedition, " were McGeehan,
Hoagland, Beeson, Munn, Ross, Ogle, John Biggs,
Craig Ritchie, John Miller, Joseph Bean, and An-
drew Plood, . . . and James Paull remembered, fifty
years after, that the lieutenant of his company was
Edward Stewart."
After the several companies had been duly formed
and organized, the line-officers and men proceeded to
elect field-officers and a commandant of the expedi-
tionary force. For the latter office there were two
candidates. One of these was Col. David William-
son, who had previously led the expedition against
the Moravian Indians on the Muskingum, and his
chances of election seemed excellent, because he was
a resident of Washington County, which had fur-
nished two-thirds of the men composing the forces.
His competitor for the command was Col. William
Crawford, whose home was on the Youghiogheny
River, near Braddock's Crossing, in what is now Fay-
ette County. He was a regular army officer in the
Continental establishment of the Virginia Line, well
versed in Indian modes of fighting, and had already
made an enviable military record ; he enjoyed much
personal popularity, and was also the one whom Gen.
Irvine wished to see selected for the command.'
AVhen the votes — four hundred and sixty-five in
number— were counted, it was found that Williamson
had received two hundred and thirty against two
hundred and thirty-five cast for Col. Crawford, who
thereupon became commandant of the forces of the
expedition.* Four majors were then elected, viz.:
1 In the minutes of Uie miliUry " Court of Appeal," before rererre4 'o,
i3 this entry, under date of June 5, 1782 : "Capt. John Beeson's Com-
pany — 9th. No Keturu for Duty, being aU out on tlie Expedition."
2 It is not linowu tiiat Capt. Diggs was of Fayette, but his lieutenant,
ensign, and many of the men of his company were residents of this part
of Westmorelaud.
3 Gen. Irvine wrote to Gen. Washington on the 2l8t of May, — " I have
taken some pains to get Col. Crawford appointed to command, and hujio
he will bo."
* Doddiidge, in hs "Notes" (page 2Ca), says of Ciawford that " wlicn
notified of his app<antment it is said that he accepted it with api'Urcnt
9-1:
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
David Williamson, of AVasliington County, Thomas
Gaddis and John McClelland, of that part of West-
moreland which is now Fayette, and Brinton,
their rank and seniority being in the order as here
named. Daniel Leet was elected brigade-major.
John Slovcr, of Fayette County, and Jonathan Zane
were designated as guides or pilots to the advancing
column. Dr. John Knight,' post surgeon at Fort
Pitt, had been detailed as surgeon to the expedition.
Instructions addressed " to the officer who will be
appointed to command a detachment of volunteer
militia on an expedition against the Indian town at
or near Sandusky" had been forwarded by Gen. Ir-
vine from Fort Pitt on the 21st of May. In these in-
structions the general expressed himself as follows :
'■The object of your command is to destroy with
fire and sword, if practicable, the Indian town and
settlement at Sandusky, by which we hope to give
ease and safety to the inhabitants of this country;
but if impracticable, then you will doubtless perform
such other services in your power as will in tlieir con-
sequences have a tendency to answer this great end.
" Previous to taking up your line of march it will
be highly expedient that all matters respecting rank
or command should be well understood, as far at least
as first, second, and third.^ This precaution, in case
of accident or misfortune, may be of great import.ance.
Indeed, I think whatever grade or rank may be fixed
on to have command, their relative rank should be
determined. And it is indispensably necessary that
subordination and discipline should be kept up; the
Coucerning this, Cnttci field, :
3 of the expe-
lislilm
Of tlu; 1
whole ought to understand that, notwithstanding they
are volunteers, yet by this tour they are to get credit
for it in their tours of military duty, and that for
this and otlier good reasons they must, while out on
this duty, consider themselves, to all intent, subject
to the military laws and regulations for the govern-
ment of the militia when in actual service.
" Your best chance of success will bo, if possible,
to effect a surprise, and though tliis will be difficult,
yet by forced and rapid marches it may, in a great de-
gree, be accomplished. I am clearly of opinion that
you should regulate your last day's march so as to
reach the town about dawn of day, or a little before,
and that the march of this day should be as long as
can well be performed.
"I need scarcely mention to so virtuous and disin-
terested a set of men as you will have the honor to
command that though the main, object at present is
for the purpose above set forth, viz., the protection
of this country, yet you are to consider yourselves as
acting in behalf of and for the United States, that of
course it will be incumbent on you especially who
will have the command to act in every instance in
such a manner as will reflect honor on, and add re[ni-
tation to, the American arms, of nations or inde-
pendent States.'
" Should any person, British, or in the service or
pay of Britain or their allies, fall into your hands, if
it should prove inconvenient for you to bring them
off, you will, nevertheless, take special care to liberate
them on parole, in such manner as to insure liberty
for an equal number of jjcople in their hands. There
are individuals, however, who I think should
brought off at all events should the fortune of
throw them into vour hands. I mean such as h
IS flltud out.
c request „f
c21stof Mm>
achpil the ic
gull the (lau
,,, ,,,,^, ^, , il, ; ,,, , ,',^.'„',Hn, . 11,,,: l..',.,.,'.l_.
3 Yet the llora
vian historians and their iniiti
O.S have 1
\i. Ii villi', it i> true, nil.. «-oil the tn.i>[* tu choose
me.asured ahuse
on the hravo men who conn
. , .1 ihi. .
ut he was not hackwanl in letting it be known
Heekcwehler, in
his "History of the Ind-an .V
ion of CniMfor.l."
"gaugof handitti
" and L.'.skiel, \vi itiiig in the sum
s a resident of Bull-skin township, in what was
of Indian Missio
n.V Bald, "Tho same giing cf
h.ll.'i. l.jLa
f unity. In 1770 he had enlisted in the West
conimitted Uie mn
ssacre on the Muskingum d:d lu
I give up 11
Virginia) as a private so'.dier. Soon after en-
design upon the r
•ninaut of the Indian congregat
on. though
_riiuthy Col. Crawford, the comman.ling officer
l.ayed for a season
They niaiched in Hay, 1-^■■2.
to Saudii.
le illli of August, 1T7S, he w:,« i,.,|...int...| sur-
they found noih
lig l.it .•iiiity hut--- Tl,.- T;,
.1 ... ill I
Virgiui.a. AftenvardshiM 1. i n t ! i .in-
D.I)., following tl
(under comnmnd of Col .1 ' ■ i , . i .ll
theSelllenieut ;n
1 , , M . ■ : !■, .■
\
regiment at the time tlirSi-,; . , , „, „
r,.u,is>lvaMi,."i|
,1.1 . ■,.'l',. ', 1 . '■ ,,| !. , ,
1.' V ,i'
ifeof any Indians that mi
1- Im
III,., Ky,
whire hi died
... 11,.,,,
They were the parents
..iM.vii. Uuc .,f tli,;i L^.iu
,1.1,1
udJohn,
a sou of Presley
ue, a prominent puhlic n
an
flij
ttc Conn
y. Dr. Knight
recipient of a pension fro
m go
irnu
cnt, undc
the act of May
se directions were ohseired
Jla.i.
W.lll
nison lei
g doiguatid ,as
and Maj. Gaddis as third i
man 1
ulath
many relutivea by the Imlians. and witnessed tlieir Iiorrid niurdLrs and
other deprediitiuns on so extensive .1 scaly, they became subjecU uf that
iiiiliscriuiinntiiig thii-stfor revenge wliich is such a prominent fuature in
the savage character, and liaving liad a taste of blood and plniHlei',
without risk or loss on their part, they resolved to go on and kill eveiy
Indian they could find, whether fiiend or fue." Does not the tenor of
Gen. Inint-'s instnulions to Cul. CiawTord conipk-ti-ly di^pruvc the alio*
gatiuus of Loskicl, llecliewclder, and Doddridge?
THE REVOLUTION.
95
deserted to the enemy siuce the Declaration of Inde-
pendence."
The forces of Col. Crawford commenced their march
from Mingo Bottom early in the morning of Saturday,
the 2oth of May. There was a path leading from
the river into the wilderness, and known as " Wil-
liamson's trail," because it was the route over which
Col. Williamson had previously marched on his way
to the Moravian towns. This trail, as far as it ex-
tended, offered the easiest and most practicable route,
but Col. Crawford did not adopt it,' because it was a
principal feature in his plan of the campaign to avoid
all traveled trails or routes on which they would be
likely to be discovered by lurking Indians or parties
of them, who would make haste to carry intelligence
of the movement to the villages which it was his pur-
pose to surprise and destroy. So the column, divided
into four detachments, each under immediate com-
mand of one of the four field-majors, moved up from
the river-bottom into the higher country, and struck
into the trackless wilderness, taking a course nearly
due west, piloted by the guides Slcver and Zane.
The advance was led by Capt. Biggs' company, in
hich were found young William Crawford (ensign),
James Paull, John Eodgcrs, John Sherrard, Alex-
ander Carson, and many other Fayette County vol-
unteers.
Through the depths of the gloomy forest, along the
north side of Cross Creek, the troops moved rapidly
but warily, preceded by scouts, and observing every
precaution known to border W-arfare, to guard against
ambuscade or surprise, though no sign of an enemy
appeared in the unbroken solitude of the woods. No
incident of note occurred on the march until the
night of the 27th of May, when, at their third camp-
ing-place, a few of the horses strayed and were lost,
and in the following morning the men who had thus
been dismounted, being unable to proceed on foot
without embarrassing the movements of the column,
were ordered to return to Jlingo Bottom, which they
did, but with great reluctance.
On the fourth day they reached and crossed the
Muskingum Eiver, and then, marching up the western
side of the stream, came to the ruins of the upper
Moravian village, where they made their camp for
the night, and found plenty of corn remaining in the
iged fields of the Christian Indians. This en-
campment was only sixty miles from their starting-
point on the Ohio, yet they had been four days in
reaching it. During the latter part of their journey
to this place they had taken a route more southerly
:han the one originally contemplated, for their horses
Iliad become jaded and worn out by climbing the
liills and floundering through the swamps, and so the
I Dr. Doddridge, in his " Notes," eoys, "The army marched along
i7(('(»jsoii"e trail, na it was then called, until they arrived at the uprer
Sloravian town." In this, as in many other parts of Lis narrative,
Doda:-:<lge was entirely mistaken.
commander found himself compelled to deflect his
line of march so as to pass through a more open and
level country; but he did this very unwillingly, for it
led his army through a region in which they would
be much more likely to be discovered by Indian
scouts or hunting-parties.
Up to this time, however, no Indians had been
seen ; but while the force was encamped at the ruined
village, on the evening of the 28th of May, Maj.
Brinton and Capt. Bean went out to reconnoitre the
vicinity, and while so engaged, at a distance of about
a quarter of a mile from the camp, they discovered
two skulking savages and promptly fired on them.
The shots did not take efl'ect and the Indians fled,
but the circumstance gave Col. Crawford great un-
easiness, for, although he had previously supposed
that his march had been undiscovered by the enemy,
he now believed that these scouts had been hovering
on their flanks, perhaps along the entire route from
Mingo Bottom, and it was certain that the two savages
who had been fired on would speedily carry intelli-
gence of the hostile advance to the Indian towns
on the Sandusky.
It was now necessary to press on with all practica-
ble speed in order to give the enemy as little time as
possible to prepare for defense. Early in the morning
of the 20th the column resumed its march, moving
rapidly, and with even greater caution than before.
From the Muskingum the route was taken in a
northwesterly course to the Killbuck, and thence up
that stream to a point about ten miles south of the
present town of Wooster, Ohio, where, in the even-
ing of the .30th, the force encamped, and where one of
the men died and was buried at a spot which was
marked by the cutting of his name in the bark of the
nearest tree.
From the lone grave in the forest they moved on
in a westerly course, crossing an affluent of the Mo-
hican, passing near the site of the present city of
Mansfield, and arriving in the evening of the 1st of
June at the place which is now known as Spring
Mills Station, on the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and
Chicago Railroad. There by the side of a fine spring
they bivouacked for the night. In the march of the 2d
they struck the Sandusky River at about two o'clock
P.M., and halted that night in the woods very near
the eastern edge of the Plains, not more than twenty
miles from the Indian town, their point of destina-
tion. They had seen no Indian since their dejiarture
from the night camp at the Moravian Indian village
on the Muskingum, though they had in this day's
march unknowingly passed very near the camp of
the Delaware chief Wingenund.
On the morning of the 3d of June the horsemen
entered the open country known as the Sandusky
Plains, and moved rapidly on through waving grasses
and bright flowers, between green belts of timber and
island groves such as few of them had ever seen
before. Such were the scenes which surrounded
9G
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
them during all of that day's march, and at night j
they made their fireless bivouac on or near the site of
tlie present village of Wyandot, not more than ten
miles from their objective pointy where (as they be-
lieved) the deadly and decisive blow was to be struck.
Two hours after sunrise on the 4th the men were
aijain in the saddle, and the four squadrons began
their inarch, moving with greater caution than ever.
A march of six miles brought them to the mouth
of the Little Sandusky ; thence, having crossed the
stream, they proceeded in a direction a little west of
north, past an Indian sugar-camp of the previous
spring (which was all the sign that they had seen of
Indian occupation), and passed rapidly on towards
the Wyandot town,' the objective point of the expe- i
dition, which, as the guide Slover assured the com- j
mander, lay immediately before them within striking j
distance. Suddenly, at a little after noon, the site of
the town came in fnll view through an opening in
tlie timber, Init to tlieir utter amazement they found
only a cluster of deserted huts without a single in- i
habitant! The village appeared to have been de-
serted for a considerable time, and the place was a
perfect solitude. This was a dilemma which Col. j
Crawford had not foreseen nor anticipated, and he at ,
once ordered a halt to rest the horses and give time
for him to consider the strange situation of affairs,
and to decide on a new plan of operations.
The guides, Slover and Zane, and some others in I
Crawford's command were well acquainted willi the
location of the Indian town. John Slover had pre- 1
viously been a prisoner with the Miamis, and during
his captivity with that tribe had frequently visited
tlie Wyandot village on the Sandusky. In guiding
tlie expedition there he had, of course, expected to
find the village as he had before seen it, and was, like
the rest, astonished to find it deserted. The fact, as
afterwards learned, was that some time before Craw-
ford's coming, but how long before has never been
delinitely ascertained, the Indians, believing that
their upper village was peculiarly exposed to danger
from the incursions of the whites, had abandoned it
and retired down the river about eight miles, where
tliey gathered around the village of the Half-King,
Pomoacan ; and that was their location when the col-
umns of Col. Crawford descended the Sandusky.
Contrary to the belief of the Pennsylvania and
Virginia settlers that the mustering of their forces
and the march of their expedition was unknown to
the Indians, the latter had been apprised of it from
tlie inception of the project. Prowling spies east of
the Ohio had watched the volunteers as they left their
hdines in the Monongahela Valley and moved west-
ward towards the rendezvous; they had seen the
gathering of the borderers at Mingo Bottom, and had
The location of the old A\'yantlot town was tlin
present towu of I'pper Sandusky, or five miles
[he river, and on its oppos Ic bank.
: southeast of
shadowed the advancing column along all its line (
march from the Ohio to the Sandusky. Swift runners >
had sped away to the northwest with every item of
warlike news, and on its receipt, the chiefs and war-
riors at the threatened villages lost not a moment in
making the most energetic preparations to repel the
invasion. Messengers were dispatched to all the Wy-
andot, Delaware, and Shawauese bands, calling on
them to send in all their braves to a general rendez-
vous near the Half-King's headquarters, and word ws
sent to De Peyster, the British commandant at De-
troit, notifying him of tlie danger threatening his In-
dian allies, and begging that he would send them aid'
without delay. "This request he at once acceded i
sending a considerable force of mounted men, witlii
two or three small pieces of artillery. These, however,
did not play a prominent part in the tragedy which
followed.
The Indian scouts who had watched the little army
of Crawford from the time it left Mingo Bottom .sent
forward reports of its progress day by day, and from
these reports the chiefs at the lower towns on the San-
dusky learned in the night of the 3d of June that the
invading column was then in bivouac on the Plains,
not more than eighteen miles distdnt. The war-pa^
ties of the Miamis and Shawauese had not come in
to the Indian rendezvous, nor had the expected aid
arrived from the British post at Detroit, but the chiefs
resolved to take the war-path without them, to hara
and hold the advancing enemy in check as much
possible until the savage forces should be augmented
sufficiently to enable them to give battle with hope of
success. Accordingly, in the morning of the 4th ot
June, at about the same time when Col. Crawford
was leaving his camp-ground of tlie previous night
to march on the deserted Indian town, the great Dela-
ware chief, Capt. Pipe, set out from his town wi
about two hundred warriors, and marched to the ren-
dezvous, where his force was joined by a larger party
of Wyandots under their chief Ghaus-sho-toh. Wi
them was. the notorious white renegade, Simon Girty.
mounted on a fine horse and decked out in full Indian
costume. Tlie combined Delaware and Wyandot
forces numbered in all more than five hundred braves:
— a screeching mass of barbarians, hideous in theli
war-paint and wild with excitement. After an orgit
of whooping, yelling, and dancing such as savages
were wont to indulge in before taking the war-path
the wild crowd relapsed into silence, filed out fromthi
place of rendezvous, and glided away like a huge ser
pent across the grassy plain towards the cover of I
distant belt of forest.
In the brief halt at the deserted village Col. Craw-
ford consulted with his guides and some of the officer;
as to the most advisable course to be adopted undft
the strange circumstances in which he found himsel
placed. John Slover was firm in the opinion that th'
inhabitants of the village liad removed to a town situ
THE EEVOLUTIOX.
97
a few miles below. He also believed that other
villages would be found not far away from the one
which had been abandoned, and that they might be
surprised by a rapid forward movement. Zane, the
other guide, was less confident, and not disposed to
advise, though he did not strongly oppose a farther
advance into the Indian country. The commander,
after an hour's consideration of the embarrassing
question, ordered the column to move forward towards
the lower towns. Crawford's army and the combined \
Indian forces under Pipe and Ghaus-sho-toh were now
rapidly approaching each other.
, Crossing the river just below the abandoned village,
the Pennsylvania horsemen pressed rapidly on in a
northerly direction to the place which afterwards
lio'/aiiie the site of Upper Sandusky. There was no j
iiiiliration of the presence of the foe, but the very i
sik uie and solitude seemed ominous, and the faces of i
oflicers and men grew grave, as if the shadow of ap-
proaching disaster had begun to close around them.
A mile farther on, a halt was ordered, for the gloom
liad deepened over the spirits of the volunteers, until,
for the first time, it found expression in a demand from
some of them that the advance should be abandoned
and their faces turned back towards the Ohio River.
At this juncture Col. Crawford called a council of
war. It was composed of the commander, his aide-
de-camp, Eose, the surgeon. Dr. Knight, the four
majors, the captains of the companies, and the guides,
er and Zane. The last named now gave his opin-
ion promptly and decidedly against any farther ad-
vance, and in favor of an immediate return ; for to
his mind the entire absence of all signs of Indians
was almost a sure indication that they were concen-
trating in overwhelming numbers at some point not
far off. His opinion had great weight, and the council
decided that the march should be continued until
evening, and if no enemy should then have been dis-
covered, the column should retire over the route by
which it came.
During the halt Capt. Biggs' company, deployed as
scouts, had been thrown out a considerable distance
fto the front for purposes of observation. Hardly had
the council reached its decision when one of the
scouts came in at headlong speed with the thrilling
intelligence that a large body of Indians had been
discovered on the plain, less than two miles away.
Then, "in hot haste," the volunteers mounted, formed,
and moved forward rapidly and in the best of spirits,
the retiring scouts falling in with the main body of
horsemen as they advanced. They had proceeded
nearly a mile from the place where the council was
held when the Indians were discovered directly in
their front. It was the war-party of Delawares, under
their chief, Capt. Pipe, — the Wyandots being farther
to the rear and not yet in sight.
When the Americans appeared in full view of the
Delawares, the latter made a swift movement to oc-
cupy an adjacent wood, so as to fight from cover, but
Col. Crawford, observing the movement, instantly
dismounted his men and ordered them to charge into
the grove, firing as they advanced. Before this vigor-
ous assault the Delawares gave way and retreated to
the open plain, while Crawford's men held the woods.
The Indians then attempted to gain cover in another
grove farther to the east, but were repulsed by Maj.
Leet's men, who formed Crawford's right wing. At
this time the Wyandot force came up to reinforce the
Delawares, and with them was Capt. Matthew Elliott,
of the British army, dressed in the full uniform of an
officer in the royal service. He had come from De-
troit, and arrived at the Indian rendezvous a little in
advance of the British force, but after Pipe and Ghaus-
sho-toh had set out with their braves to meet Craw-
ford. He now came up to the scene of confiict, and
at once took command of both Indian parties. On
his arrival he immediately ordered the Delaware chief
to flank the Americans by passing to their left. The
movement was successfully executed, and they held
the position, much to the discomfort of the frontiers-
men, who, however, could not be dislodged from their
cover. But they had no great advantage of position,
for the Indians were scarcely less sheltered by the tall
grass of the plains, which almost hid them from view
when dismounted, and afforded a considerable pro-
tection against the deadly fire of the Pennsylvania
marksmen.'
The fight commenced at about four o'clock, and
was continued with unabated vigor, but with varying
success, through the long hours of that sultry June
afternoon. Through it all, the villanous Simon Girty
was present with the Delawares, and was frequently
seen by Crawford's men (for he was well knowu by
many of them), riding on a white horse, giving orders
and encouraging the savages, but never within range
of the white men's rifles. The combined forces of the
Wyandots and Delawares considerably outnumbered
the command of Col. Crawford, but the latter held
their own, and could not be dislodged by all the arti-
fices and fury of their savage assailants. When the
shadows of twilight began to deepen over grove and
glade, the savage hordes ceased hostilities aud retired
to more distant points on the plains.
The losses in Col. Crawford's command during the
afternoon were five killed and twenty-three wounded,
as reported by the aide-de-camp. Rose, to Gen. Irvine.
One of the killed was Capt. Ogle, and among the
oflScers wounded were Maj. Brinton, Capt. Ross, Capt.
Munn, Lieut. Ashley, and Ensign McMasters. Philip
Smith, a volunteer from Georges Creek, Fayette
County, received a severe wound iu his elbow, which
1 " Some of the bonlurers climbed trees, and from their biisliy tops took
deiidly aim at the beads of the enemy as tliey arose above Ibe gras.s.
Daniel Canon [of Fayette Connty] was conspicnons in tliis novel mode
of warfare. He was one of the dead shots of the army
lofty liidiDK-place tlio reports of his unerring rifle gave
evidence of the killing of savages. ' I do not know how many Indians
I killed,' saiil he, afterwards, ' but I never s.iw the same head again above
the grass after I shot at it.' "—Biillcr/idd.
, and from bis
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENXSYLVANIA.
protruded slightly from behind the tree which he had
taken as a cover while firing.'
The losses of the Indians were never ascertained.
Though doubtless greater than those of the whites,
tliey were probably not very heavy, because the savage
combatants were to a great extent hidden from view
by the tall grass which grew everywhere in the open-
ings. A number of Indian scalps were taken by
Crawford's men, but no prisoners were captured on
either side.
At the close of the conflict of the 4th of June tlie
advantage seemed to be with the white men, for the
foe had retired from their front, and they still kept
possession of the grove,'- from which the red demons
had tried persistently but in vain for nearly four
liniirs to dislodge them. The officers and men of
Cul. Crawford's command were in good spirits, and
tlie commander himself felt confident of ultimate
victory, for his volunteers had behaved admirably,
exhibiting remarkable steadiness and bravery during
the trying scenes of the afternoon. But the Indians
were by no means dispirited, for they had suflered no
actual defeat, and they knew that their numbers
would soon be augmented by the Shawanese and other
war-parties who were already on their way to join
them, as was also the British detachment which had
been sent from Detroit.^ The night bivouac of the
Wyandots was made on the plains to the north of the
battle-field, and that of the Delawares at about the
same distance south. Far to the front of the Indian
camps, lines of fires were kept burning through the
night to prevent a surprise, and the same precaution-
ary measure was taken by Col. Crawford. Out-
lying scouts from both forces watched each other with
sleepless vigilance through the hours of darkness,
aud frontiersmen and savages slept on their arms.
I.i-.mght hin. iK.w,.. N
i'nmiv I'JlN'oiiiio
iiting:in'iisoimbletime
I crawled alontr to
■a dragged uway. I cc
t.ld idainlj- seo the
was fouKlit in and nro
mid tlic grove since
i.i; in what is now Cnvi
lownsliip, Wvnn-
.Id lialf a mile Mst nf
'''n.i""iV!'TI,M!
It was the wish of Col. Crawford to make a vigor-
ous attack on the Indians at daylight on the morning
of the 5tli, but, he was prevented from doing so by the
fact that the care of his sick^ and wounded was very
embarrassing, requiring the services of a number of
men, and so reducing the strength of his fighting
force. It was determined, however, to make the best
preparations possible under the circumstances, and to
attack with every available man in the following
night. The Indians had commenced firing early in
the morning, and their fire was answered by the
whites; but it was merely a skirmish at long range,
and in no sense a battle. It was kept up during the
greater part of the day, but little harm was done, only
four of Crawford's men being wounded, and none
killed. Col. Crawford, as we have seen, was not pre-
pared for a close conflict, but he, as well as his officers ■
and men, felt confident of their ability to defeat the
enemy when the proper time should come, attrilniting
the apparent unwillingness of the Indians to come to •
close quarters to their having been badly crippled in
the fight of the 4th. But the fact wa-i that the sav-
ages were content with making a show of fight sufli-
cient to hold their white enemies at bay while wait-
ing for the arrival of their reinforcements, which fliey
knew were approaching and near at hand.
The day wore on. The red warriors kept up their
desultory firing, and the white skirmishers reiilicd,
while their comrades were busily and confidently
making preparations for the intended night a'^saultj
but it was a delusive and fatal confidence. Suddenly,
at a little past noon, an excited scout brought word
to Col. Crawford that a body of white horsemen were
approaching from the north. This was most alarming
intelligence, but it was true. The British detachment'
from Detroit — Butler's Rangers — had arrived, and
were then forminga junction with the Wyandot forces.
But this was not all. Almost simultaneously with the
arrival of the British horsemen, a large body of Shaw-
anese warriors appeared in the south, in full view
from Col. Crawford's position, and joined the line of
the Delawares.
In this state of affairs the idea of an attack on the
Indian camps could no longer be entertained. The
commandant at once called a council of war of his ■
officers to determine on the course to be pursued in
this dire emergency. Tiieir deliberations were very
short, and the decision unanimously rendered was to
retreat towards the Ohio. In pursuance of this de-
cision, preparations for the movement were at once
commenced. The dead had already been buried, and
fires were now built over them to prevent their dis-
1 been nmdo sicli hy llie great
lay, and liy tlie vcr.v Iiad water
whicli they liad Itcen compelled to driiili, the only water wliit li could
he found in the virinity of the hattle.ground being a stagnant pool '
which had formed ntider the routs of a tree which had been blown over.
Mnj. Hose, in his re|iort to Gen. Irvine, siid, " Wo were so much encnni-
hen-il with our wounded aud sick Ihat the whole day was s|>cnt in their
THE REVOLUTION.
99
covery and desecration by the savages. Most of the
wounded were able to ride, but for the few who were
not, stretchers were prepared. These and other nec-
essary preparations were completed before dark, and
the volunteers were ready to move at the word of
command. Meanwhile, war-parties had been hourly
arriving to reinforce the Indian forces, which had now
become so overwhelming in numbers that any oflen-
sive attempt against them would have been madness.
As soon as the late twilight of June had deepened
into darkness, all scouts and outposts were called in,
the column was formed in four divisions, each under
command of one of the field-majors, as on the out-
ward march,' and the retreat was commenced, the
command of Maj. John McClelland leading, and Col.
Crawford riding at the head of all. Usually in a re-
treat the post of honor, as of danger, is that of the
rear-guard, but in this case the head of the column
was as much or more exposed than the rear, as the
line of march lay between the positions held by the
Delawares and Shawanese. That the advance was
here considered to be the post of danger is shown by
the fact that orders were given to carry the badly
wounded in the rear.
The Indians had discovered the movement almost
as soon as the preparations for it commenced, and
hardly had the head of the column begun to move
when it was fiercely attacked by the Delawares and
Shawanese. The volunteers pushed on, fighting as
they went, but they suffered severely, and soon after,
Miij. McClelland was wounded, and, falling from his
horse, was left behind to the tender mercies of the
savages.'^ The division, however, fought its way clear
of the Indians, who did not then follow up the pursuit,
probably for the reason that they felt doubtful as to
the actual intent of the movement, thinking it might
prove to be but a feint, covering the real design of a
general assault; so, fearful of some unknown strata-
gem or trap, they remained within supponing dis-
tance of the Wyandots and Rangers, and by failing to
pursue probably lost the opportunity of routing, per-
haps annihilating, the head division.
When the advance-guard received the attack of
the Delawares and Shawanese, the other three divis-
ions, which, although not wholly demoralized, were
undoubtedly to some extent panic-stricken, most un-
accountably abandoned McClelland's command, and
in disregard of the orders to follow the advance in a
solid column, moved rapidly off on a line diverging
to the right from the prescribed route. They had not
proceeded far, liowever, before some of the companies
became entangled in the mazes of a swamp, in which
several of the horses were lost. During the delay
> Excepting tlint of MajBi!
now commiintleil l.y Tli L 1 1, i
2 It was lielievra ,.i
Clellaiid was Uillc-d .
effort was made t.. sn ' im ;;
I was wounded. His division was
Itioers and men tliatMaj. Mc-
■A IS donbllcss the reason wliy no
I I . Tlie belief was erroneous', as
caused by this mishap, the rear battalion was attacked
by the Indians, and a few of the men were wounded,
but the enemy did not push his advantage, and the
divisions pushed on as rapidly as possible, and de-
flecting to the left beyond the swamp, and striking
the trail by which they came on the outward march,
came about daybreak to the deserted Indian village
on the Sandusky, where they found the men of Mc-
Clelland's division, who had reached there an liour or
two earlier, disorganized, panic-stricken, and leader-
less, for Maj. McClelland had been left for dead on
the field, as before narrated ; and during the hurried
march, or more properly the flight, from the scene of
the fight to the abandoned village, the commander.
Col. Crawford, had disappeared, and no one was able
to give any information concerning him, whether he
had been wounded, killed, captured, or lost in the
woods. John Slover, the guide, and Dr. Knight, the
surgeon, were also missing. These facts, when known
by the men, greatly increased their uneasiness and
demoralizati<m.
At this point (the deserted Wyandot village), Maj.
Williamson, as Col. Crawford's second in command,
assumed the leadership of the forces, and after a brief
halt the entire command, now numbering something
more than three hundred and fifty men, continued
the retreat over the route by which they had come on
the outward march. The new commander, never
doubting that tlie Indians would pursue him in force,
hurried on his men with all possible speed, keeping
out the most wary and trusty scouts on his rear and
flanks. The command passed tiie mouth of the Little
Sandusky without seeing any signs of an enemy, but
while passing through the Plains, at about eleven
o'clock" in the forenoon, the scouts discovered far in
their rear a pursuing party, apparently composed of
botli Indians and white men. They were afterwards
found to be Wyandots and British Rangers, all
mounted. It was now the purpose of Maj. William-
son to cross the Plain country and reach the shelter
of the timber before being overtaken by the pursuers ;
and the latter were equ.ally determined, if possible, to
possess themselves of the woods in advance of the
Americans. The race was an eager and exciting one
on both sides, but at last Maj. Williamson found that
the Indians were gaining on him so rapidly that he
would be compelled to stand for battle before reach-
ing the timber. Maj. Rose, in his report of these
operations to Gen. Irvine, said, " Tliough it was our
business studiously to avoid engaging in the Plains,
on account of the enemy's superiority in light cav-
alry, yet they pressed our rear so hard that we con-
cluded on a general and vigorous attack, whilst our
light-horse' secured the entrance of the woods."
The place where Maj. Williamson found himself
compelled to stand at bay before the pursuing horde
3 Referring to one of tlie companies, which Col. Crawford bad selected
and equipped for special duty as skirnu^heri and scouts.
100
HISTORY OP FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
of AVyandots and British Rangers, in the early after-
noon of the 6th of June, was near the creek called
Olentangy,^ a tributary of the Scioto, near the eastern
edge of the Plains, where the column of Col. Craw-
ford had first debouched from the shades of the forest
into the open country on the morning of the 3d,
when moving towards the Wyandot town, which they
found deserted. But the aspect of afliiirs was materi-
ally changed since that time. Then they were ad-
vancing in high spirits and confident of victory
over the savages, now, in headlong flight before the
same barbarous foe, they were turning in sheer des-
peration to fight for their lives.
The battle-line of the Pennsylvanians faced to the
west, and in its rear, holding the edge of the woods,
and ready to act as a reserve corps in case of emer-
gency, was the company of light-horsemen. The pur-
suing force, close upon them, attacked unhesitatingly
and with fierce energy, first striking the front, then
quickly extending their battle-line around the left
flank to the rear of Williamson's force, which was
thus compelled to meet the savage assault in three
directions. But the panic and demoralization of the
volunteers had entirely disappeared,- and they met
each successive onslaught with such cool bravery and
steadiness, and fought with such desperation, that at
the end of an hour from the commencement of the
battle the enemy withdrew, discomfited, and appa-
rently with heavy loss. Perhaps the sudden cessa-
tion of their firing was in some degree due to the fact
that just then a furious thunder-storm, which had for
some time been threatening, burst upon the combat-
ants. The men were drenched and chilled to the
bone, while much of their ammunition was rendered
useless by the rain. This, however, operated tjuite as
unfavorably to the Indians as to the whites.
As soou as the savages and Rangers withdrew, Maj.
Williamson, without a moment's delay, caused the
dead to be buried and the wounded^ cared for, and
then the retreat was resumed. Capt. Biggs' company,
which seems to have always held the post of danger,
leading the advance in the outward march, now
formed the rear-guard, though its ranks were reduced
to nine men and all its oflicers were missing. It was
byflhli
lu«', anil \v.aste not a
■I'eml upon it!" These
iMipc'U'SsiK'ss of escujie
1 to stand firm, resolved to fight
IS3 of the yolnnteers in this flglit was tlii'co Uillcd and eigh
afterwards relieved, however, and from that time each
of the companies in turn took position to guard the
rear of the retreating column.
When Williamson commenced his retreat from the
battle-field, the enemy, who had in the mean time
scattered over the Plains, soon concentrated and re-
newed the pursuit, firing rapidly but at long range.
Soou, however, they began to press the rear mori
closely, throwing the volunteers into some disorder,
which must have grown into a panic but for the cool-
ness and intrepidity of the commander and Maj.
Rose. These officers were unceasing in their efforts,
constantly moving along the line, entreating the vol-
unteers to keep solidly together and preserve unbroken
the order of march, and warning them tliat if any
should leave the column and attempt to escape singly
or in squads they would certainly lose their scalps.
Finally they became steady, and the order of march
was preserved unbroken during the remainder of the
day. The Indians kept up the pursuit, and occasion-
ally attacked with much vigor, though, as William-
son's force was now moving through the timbered
country, the savages no longer held the relative ad-
vantage which they had possessed in fighting on the
Plains.
The volunteers bivouacked that night (June 6th)
on the Sandusky River, about six miles from the
battle-field of the afternoon ; the enemy's force
camped about a mile farther to the rear. Unusual
precautions were taken by Maj. Williamson to guard
against a surprise during the night, and at the first
streakings of dawn on the 7th the men fell in to re-
sume the march ; but hardly had the column been
formed when the Indians came up and opened fire
ujion the rear. A lively skirmish followed, in which
two of the men fell into the liands of the savages, but
no disorder ensued. The retreat was continued
steadily and in good order, and, much to Jlaj. Wil-
liamson's surprise, the Indians suddenly abandoned
the pursuit. The last shot from the savages was fired
at a point near the present town of Crestline. From
there the column moved rapidly on in good order
and without molestation to the Ohio, which it crossed
on the 13th of June. On their arrival on the Vir-
ginia side of the river, the men not being compelled
to wait for a formal dischai-ge, dispersed to their
homes.
Having seen how Maj. Williamson with the main
body of the troops reached and crossed the Ohio
River, let us return to trace the adventures and mis-
fortunes of the brave Col. Crawford, his faithful
friend Dr. Knight, and others who had become sepa-
rated from the column and were struggling on through
the wilderness, with dangers surrounding them on
every side, in their endeavors to escape from the
savages.
When the volunteers commenced their retreat from
the battle-field of the 4th and otli of June, at about
THE REVOLUTION.
101
nine o'clock in the evening of tlie last-mentioned
day, Col. Crawford rode at the head of the leading
division (McClelland's). A very short time after-
wards they wore attacked by the Delawares and
Shawanese, and (as has already been mentioned) the
rear divisions left their position in the line of march
and moved away to the right, leaving the front di-
vision to extricate itself from its perilous situation.
They left in such haste that no little disorder ensued,
in which some of the sick and wounded were left
behind, though it is believed that all but two were
finally saved from the enemy. While the Indian
attack on the advance division was in progress, Col.
Crawford became anxious concerning his son John,
liis nephew, William Crawford, and his son-in-law,
William Harrison, and rode back to find them or
re himself of their safety, but in this he was un-
successful. While engaged in the search he was
joined by the surgeon, Dr. Knight, whom he re-
quested to remain with and assist him. With this
equest the doctor readily complied. He thought
the missing men were in the front, but as the colonel
assured him they were not, the two remained behind
considerable time after the last of the troops had
passed on, the commander in the meanwliile express-
liimself in terms of indignation at the conduct of
the three battalions in disobeying his orders by leaving
the line of march and pressing on in their semi-panic,
forgetting the care of the sick and wounded, and
jardless of everything but their own safety.
After the last of the troops had passed on, and
when Crawford and the surgeon found it useless to
remain longer, they followed as nearly as they could
in the track of the larger column, which, however,
by this time was a considerable distance away and
lost to view iu the darkness. Proceeding rather
lowly on (for the colonel's horse had become jaded
and nearly worn out by the fatigues of the day), they
were soon after overtaken by two stragglers who came
up from the rear, one of them being an old man and
the other a stripling. Neither of these had seen or
knew anything about the two young Crawfords and
Harrison.
The colonel and his three companions had not
proceeded far when the sound of fire-arms was heard
in front of them and not very far away. It was from
the attack which the savages made on the rear of the
retre.ating column at the time when a part of it be-
came entangled in the swamp, as has been mentioned.
The noise of the firing before them caused Crawford's
party to turn their course in a more northerly direc-
tion, on which they continued for two or three miles,
when, believing that they were clear of the enemy,
they turned at nearly a right angle, now facing nearly
east, and moving in single file, Indian fashion. At
about midnight they reached and crossed the San-
dusky River. Near that stream they lost the old
man, who had lagged behind, and was probably
killed by Indians.
From the Sandusky they continued in an easterly
direction, but when morning came, they turned more
southerly. Early in the day the horses ridden by Col.
Crawford and the boy gave out entirely and were
left behind. Early in the afternoon they were joined
by Capt. Biggs and Lieut. Ashley, the latter mounted
on Biggs' horse, and suffering severely from the
wound received in the battle of the 4th. The captain
had bravely and generously stood by the wounded
lieutenant, and w.as now marching on foot by his side,
resolved to save him if possible, even at the risk of his
own life. And a fearful and fatal risk it proved to be.
At almost precisely the time when Biggs and Ashley
were found by Col. Crawford's party (about two o'clock
P.M. on the (Jth of June), the main body of volunteers,
under Williamson, were facing to the rear, forming
line of battle to meet the attack of the pursuing In-
dians, as has already been noticed. The distance
from the field where the battle was raging to the
place where the party of fugitives were at that time
was about six miles in a northwest direction. After
beingjoinod by Biggs and Ashley, the colonel and his
companions moved on slowly (being encumbered by
the care of the wounded officer) for about an hour,
when their flight was interrupted by the same thunder-
storm that burst over the battle-field of Olentangy at
the close of the conflict. Being now drenched with
the rain, and wearied by their eighteen hours' flight,
the commander thought it best to halt, and accord-
ingly they made their night bivouac here,' amid the
most cheerless surroundings, wet, shivering, and in
constant dread of being discovered by prowling sav- '
ages.
Early in the morning of the 7th' the party pushed
on in iTearly the same southeasterly direction, recross-
ing the Sandusky River. An hour or two after their
start they came to a place where a deer had been
killed. The best parts of the carcass had been cut off"
and wrapped in the skin of the animal, as if the owner
had intended to return and carry it away. This they
took possession of and carried with them, as also a
tomahawk which lay on the ground near by. A mile
or so farther on they saw smoke rising through the
trees. Leaving the wounded officer behind, in charge
of the boy, the others advanced cautiously towards the
fire. They found no person there, but they judged,
from the indications, that some of the volunteers had
been there, and had left the place only a short time
before. Lieut. Ashley was then brought up, and they
proceeded to roast the venison which they had cap-
tured. As they were about finishing their meal a
white man was seen near by, who, on being called to,
came up very cautiously, and was recognized by Col.
Crawford as one of his own men. He said he was the
slayer of the deer, and that he had been frightened
away from the carcass by the approach of the colonel
nmpeil that night is about t
102
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
and his companions. Food was given him, and after
eating he moved on with the party.
Ahout the middle of the afternoon they struck the
route of the army's outward march, at a bend in the
Sandusky, less than two miles distant from the i)lace
where Williamson's force had bivouacked the night
before, and where, in the morning of the same day,
the pursuing Indians had made their last attack on
the retreating column. They were still nearer to the
camping-place occupied by the Indians during the
jirevious night, and it is difficult to understand how
the practiced eye of Col. Crawford could have failed
to discover the proximity of Indians, but it is cer-
tain that such was the case, for when Dr. Knight and
Capt. Biggs advised him to avoid following the trail,
for fear of encountering the enemy, he replied with
confidence that there was little danger of it, for the
savages would not follow the retreating column after
it reached the timbered country, but would aban-
don the pursuit as soon as they reached the eastern
verge of the Plains.
From the point where they struck the trail at the
bend of the river, then, they moved on over the route
which had been passed by the troops in their out-
ward march. Col. Crawford and Dr. Knight, both
on foot, led the way; Capt. Biggs (now riding the
doctor's horse) followed some fifteen or twenty rods
behind, and in the rear marched the boy and the
killer of .the deer, both dismounted. In this manner
they proceeded along the south side of the river until
they came very near the iihu-e where Williamson had
made his camp of the previous evening. It does not
appear that they had yet detected the proximity of an
enemy, or that they were using more than ordinary
precaution as they traveled. Suddenly, directly in
front of Crawfjrd and Knight, and not more than fifty
feet from them, three Indians started up in full view.
Crawford stood his ground, not attempting to gain
cover, but the surgeon instantly took to a tree and
raised his piece to fire, but desisted from doing so at
the peremptory command of the colonel. Imme-
diately afterwards, however, Capt. Biggs saw the sav-
.iges and fired, but without effect. One of the Indians
came up to Crawford and took him by the hand, while
another in like manner advanced and took the hand
of the surgeon, at the same time calling him "doc-
tor," for they had previously been acquainted with
each other at Fort Pitt.
The Indians told Crawford to order Biggs and Ash-
ley, with the two other men in the rear, to come up
and surrender, otherwise they would go and kill them.
The colonel complied, calling out to them to advance,
but this was disregarded, and all four of them es-
caped, though Biggs and Ashley were afterwards
taken and killed by the savages.
It was a ])arty of the Delawares who captured Col.
Crawford and' Dr. Knight, and they immediately
took their captives to the camj) of their chief, Winge-
I nund. The time this occurred was in the afternoon
of the 7th of June (Friday), only five days after the
army had passed by the same place in its outward
march in the highest spirits, and with the brave
Crawford riding at its head, happily unconscious of
the awful doom which awaited him.
Crawford and Knight remained at the camp of the
Dclawares for three days. During their stay there
(in the evening of Sunday, the 9th) a party of out-
lying scouts came in, bringing the scalps of Lieut.
Ashley and Capt. Biggs, as also the horses which had
been ridden by those unfortunate ofhccrs. Besides
Crawford and Knight, there were nine other white
prisoners at the Delaware camp, all half-starved and
guarded with the utmost vigilance by the seventeen
I warriors who composed the war-party at the camp. •
Several of these savages were personally known to
I Crawford'and Knight.
I On the morning of the 10th the camp was broken
up, and the warriors set out with their prisoners for
the Sandusky towns. All of them except Crawford
were taken to the old town at Upper Sandusky ; but
the colonel was taken by a different route to the head-
quarters of Pomoacan, the great sachem of the Wyan-
dots. There were two reasons for his being sent to
that village, one of them being to have him guide his
captors over the route by which he and Knight had
come, so that they might possibly find the horses
which luid been left behind, and the other reason
being to allow the colonel to see Simon Girty, who
was known to be at the Half-King's town. Girty was
an old acquaintance of Crawford's, as has been seen,
and the latter had a foint hope that by a personal in-
terview with the renegade he might be induced to
use his influence with the Indians to save the prison-
er's life, or at least to save him from the torture by
fire. The hope was a vain and delusive one, as the
event proved, but the doomed man in his extremity
clung to it as drowning men catch at straws. His
savage custodians well knew that he would g
nothing by the interview with Girty, hut they granted
his request, apparently for the demoniac satisfaction:
of witnessing the despair and agony of his certain i
disappointment.
The prisoners bound for the old town arrived there
the same evening. Later in the night Crawford and
i his guards reached Pomoacan's village, where ho had
the desired interview with Girty, during which he
offered the wretch one thousand dollars to interfere
; and save his life. Girty promised to do what he
' could, though he had not the slightest intention of
keeping his word. He also told the colonel that his
nephew, William Crawford, and his son-in-law, Wil-
liam Harrison, h.ad been captured by Shawanese
scouts, but that the chiefs of that tribe had decided
to spare their lives, the latter portion of his statement
being false, as he well knew. But the story, with
the promise to intercede in his behalf, had the effect
to allav for the time the colonel's worst fears.
THE KEVOLUTION.
103
On the following morning (June 11th) Crawford
was informed that he must go to the old town, to
join the other prisoners, so that all could be marched
body to the village of the Half-King. Under
this order he was taken to the upper village, where he
arrived about the middle of the forenoon, and there
found the main body of the white prisoners, including
Dr. Knight, and the Delaware chiefs, Pipe and Wir.-
genund, who had come there at an earlier hour in
the morning. Here the hopes which had been raised
Crawford's mind by the promise of Girty were sud-
denly extinguished when Wingenund approached him
and painted his face black. The hypocritical chief,'
while he was performing the ominous operation, pro-
fessed to be extremely glad to see the colonel, and
assured him that he was to be adopted as an Indian ;
but Crawford was not deceived by this dissimulation,
for he well knew that when the Indians painted the
face of a prisoner black it meant but one thing, — that
the person so marked had been doomed to death.
All the other prisoners, including Dr. Knight, had
previously been painted black by the implacable
pelaware, Capt. Pipe.
A little later in the day the whole party of pris-
[oners, under their Indian guards, moved out from the
old town and took the trail down the river. Col.
Crawford and Dr. Knight (who were regarded by the
Indians as their principal prizes) were marched some
distance in the rear of the others, and were kept in
charge by no less personages than the chiefs Win-
genund and Pipe. They had not proceeded far from
the village before they passed the corpse of one of
the prisoners who preceded them. A little farther on
they saw another, then another and another, four in
all, killed by their guards only a few minutes before,
and all bearing the bloody marks made by the scalp-
ing-knife.
They had supposed that their destination was the
[town of the Wyandot sachem, Pomoacan, but their
hearts sank within them- when, at the Big Springs,
on the present site of Upper Sandusky, the Indians
le treaclierous Wingenund was i
ways professed great friendshif
entertained by the colonel at
[Cttpt. Pipe was also acqnaintod with <
Tlie Wyan-lota had advanced m
civiliz:ttion than had the D^daware
Ihey, long l.crol-e th.l miii', uiM.lii
their priaoiiers, but th. , :i . ; , i
[other trihes. Tlie [•i\~ .1 •, 1,
n in their favur tl.al iImo «
their real destination was
a- too well that m'M-cy was
and Wingenund, being fi
I Crawford and Knight, had
from the Half-King, Punina
rbarity, for, as the Wyatidot
■t m.asters of that section of
eadful deed without the c
■w cou'ld 1
lightforwi
acquainted with Col. Crawford,
him, and had more than once
house ou the Youghiogheny.
rford.
farther on the ro.ad towards
Shawanese. and not only bad
iiined the practice of burning
the horrid custom among the
i^. had consequently regarded
to be taUen to the home of the
that they hail b.-en deceived,
ruel Delawares,
:o be expected. The fact was
lelerniined to inflict the fire
urse to stratagem and deceit
lis consent to the commission
10 niLiie poiveirol than they,,
left the trail leading to the Wyandot headquarters
and took that leading to the villages of the Delawares.
On this trail they proceeded in a northwesterly course
until they reached Little Tymochtee Creek, where
Crawford and Knight, with their guards, overtook the
other surviving prisoners, only five in number. Here
several squaws and young Indians were met, and all
the prisoners were halted and made to sit on the
ground. The object of this movement became appa-
rent when, a few minutes later, the five pri-soners were
set upon by the squaws and boys, who tomahawked and
scalped them all. Some of the boys took the warm
and bloody scalps and repeatedly dashed them into
tlie fticcs of Crawford and Knight, who had also been
seated on the ground a short distance away from but
in full view of the butchery.
Of the prisoners who had set out from the old
town only Crawford and Knight now remained. The
march was resumed on the trail to Pipe's town, the
two prisoners being now separated and made to walk
a hundred yards or more apart. Ou their way they
were met by Simon Girty on horseback and accom-
panied by several Indians. Girty spoke to Crawford
and also to Knight, heaping upon the latter the vilest
epithets and abuse. As the party moved on they
were met by many Indians, all of whom maltreated
the prisoners, striking them with clubs and beating
theni with their fists. About the middle of the after-
noon the party with their dejected captives arrived
at a piece of bottom-land on the east bank of Ty-
mochtee Creek, where a halt was made, and it became
at once apparent that witli this halt the journeying
of one at least of the prisoners was ended. Craw-
ford and Knight were still separated, and were not
again allowed to hold any conversation together.
Knight was in charge of a peculiarly villanous-look-
ing Indian named Tutelu, who had been made his
special guard, and who was to take him on the follow-
ing day to the Shawanese towns, which had been de-
cided on as the place where he was to be put to death.
The spot where the party halted on the banks of
the Tymochtee was the place^ where Col. Crawford
was to die. It had been fully and finally decided by
the chiefs that he should sutfer death by the torture
of fire, and as all the barbarous preparations had
been made there was but little delay before the com-
mencement of the infernal orgie. The fatal stake
had already been set, and fires of hickory sticks were
burning in a circle around it. About forty Indian
men and twice that number of .squaws and young
Indians were waiting to take part in the torturing of
the unfortunate prisoner.
Immediately on his arrival the colonel was stripped
naked and made to sit on the ground, with his hands
firmly bound together and tied behind him. Then
the yelling, screeching crowd fell upon him and beat
consent thej
np.iuied by (
3 The siiot where Col. Crawford met 1
slightly rising ground in the creek hot
clistnnro norUiuast of the village of Cr
e death is 1
104
IIISTOllY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PEXxXSYLVANIA.
him without mercy until he was exhausted and cov-
ered with blood. When they had tired of this the
victim was dragged to the centre of the fiery circle
preparatory to the last act in the hellish drama. A
rope had previously been tied around the stake near
its foot, and now the other end of it was made fast to
tlie cord with which his wrists were bound together.
The rope was some six or eight feet in length, allow-
ing him to pass two or three times around the stake.
He could also sit or lie down at will.
The infamous Simon Girty was present, and re-
mained there during all the dreadful proceedings
which followed. When Crawford was led to the
stake he called out to the renegade (who stood among
the foremost in the ring of savage spectators), asking
him if they had determined to burn him to death,
and upon Girty's unfeeling rsply in the affirmative he
replied that if so he would try to endure it with
patience and die like a soldier and Christian. Then
the vindictive Capt. Pipe addressed the savages with
violent gesticulations, and at the close of his speech
the assembled barbarians applauded with wild de-
light, whilst some of the crowd rushed in upon the
prisoner and cut off both his ear?.'
As a prelude to the still more terrible tortures that
were to follow, the Indians closed in on the miserable
man and fired charges (jf imwdir into his unprotected
body. More than fil'ty times w us this repeated, and
the pain thus inflicted could scarcely have been less
than that produced by the flames. After this satanic
procedure was concluded the fires (which up to this
time had been burning but slowly) were replenished
with fresh fuel, and as the heat grew more intense,
and the sufleriiii,'s of the victim became more and
more exeruciatinL', the joy and shouting of the red
devils rose hiirher and lii-hur.
Burning at tlu' sla':i- is universally regarded as
among the most tcrriM' tintures that liunian cruelty
can inflict. But the I» ■! (waro rliiLl's had prepared for
the brave Crawford an a-nny iinao intense and pro-
tracted than that of the licking flames,— they roasted
him alive! The fires were placed at a distance of
some fifteen feet from the stake, and within that
dreadrul lirch' f.r three and a half hours he sufl'ered
analnio-t iii(Mn,rival>l.' j.hysieal torment, which death
would hav,' trniiiiiatcil in cue-tenth part the time if
the fagots had Ijeen jiiled close around him.
As the fires burned down the Indians seized burn-
ing brands and throw them at the victim, until all the
space which his ti'tinr allowed him was tiiickly strewn
with coals and lairiiin- cnilnrs, cm which his naked
feet must tread as he constantly moved around the
stake and back in the delirium of his pain. To in-
1 This ~lHt.'ni-nt i^ 1111.1.- ill III.' i.iiiriliv.. uf Dr. Knijlit, who, after
of fills
V among
the ex-
tensify and prolong the torture the savages applied
every means that their infernal ingenuity could sug-
gest, and which to describe or even to th
the mind with sickening horror.
To Simon Girty, who was in prominent v
the savage throng,-. Crawford called out
tremity of his agony, begging the wretch to end his
misery by sending a ball through his heart. To this
appeal Girty replied, sneeringly, that he had no gun,
at the same time uttering a brutal laugh of derisioa
and pleasure at the hideous spectacle. If, as tradition
has it, he had once been repelled in his attempted ad-
dresses to the colonel's beautiful daughter, Sally Craw-
ford, he was now enjoying the satisfaction of a terri-
ble revenge on her miserable father for the indignity.
Through it all the brave man bore up with as much
fortitude as is possible to weak human nature, fre-
quently praying to his Heavenly Father for the mercy
which was denied him on earth. Towards the last,
being evidently exhausted, he ceased to move around
the stake and lay down, face downwards, upon the
ground. The fires being now well burned down the
savages rushed in on him, beat him with the glowing
brands, heaped coals upon his body, and scalped him.
Once more he arose, bloody, blinded, and crisped,
and tottered once or twice around the stake, then fell
to rise no more. Again the barbarians applied burn-
ing brands, and heaped live coals on his scalped head,
but he was fast becoming insensible to pain, his end
was near, and after a few more vain attempts by the
savages to inflict further torments death came to the
rescue and the spirit of William Crawford was free.
It was on the 11th of June, at about four o'clock
in the afternoon, that the torture commenced. The
end came just as the sun was sinking' behind the
tops of the trees that bordered the bottom-lands of
the Tymochtee. Then the savages heaped the brands
together on the charred and swollen body and burned
it to a cinder, dancing around the spot for hours,
yelling and whooping in a wild frenzy of demoniac
exultation.
It will be recollected that Dr. Knight was brought
from the Indian old town to the place of torture on
the Tymochtee with Col. Crawford, though the two
were kept apart and not allowed to converse together.
The doctor remained a horrified spectator of the
burning of his superior officer until near the time of
his death. On his arrival at the place. Knight was
fallen upon by the Indians and cruelly beaten.
While Crawford was in the midst of his greatest suf-
fering Simon Girty came to where Knight was sitting
= It Ims been stated iu somn accounts of the Jeatli of Col. Crawfori
tliat the British captjtin, Matthew Elliott, was also present during tlie
dre.adful scenes of the torture. It may have been so, but tha statement
has .never been fully substautiated, Hud there are serious doubts of its '
autlieniicity.
s " It was a tradition long after repeated by the Delawares and Wyail-
doTs that Crawford breathed his last just at the going down of the suu."
—Biilkrjh-hVs E.q,{,Ulha agniml Samliiakn.
THE EEVOLUTION.
105
aii'l tnkl him that he too must prepare for the same
oiikal, and he need have no hope of escaping death
]iv tnrture, though he would not suffer at the same
jihnc, but would be removed to the Shawanese towns
tn lie burned. Soon after an Indian came to him and
still -k him rep(^atedly in the face with the bloody
sialp which had just been torn from Crawford's head.
Tuwiiids the end of the diabolical scene, but while
( 'lawford was yet living, Knight was taken away and
nianlied to Capt. Pipe's house, some three-frturths of
a mile distant, where he remained during the night,
se( iirely bound, and closely guarded by the Indian
Tiuelu, who had him iu his especial charge.
Ill the morning (June 12th) his guard unbound
him. and having again painted him with black, started
out nil horseback, driving Knight before him on foot,
liiiunil for the Shawanese towns, where the doctor was
to sillier the torture. Passing by the spot where
Claw lord had suffered on the previous day, they saw
all that remained of the colonel, a few burned bones,
when the Indian told his horrified prisoner that
! this was his " big captain." They moved on towards
the southwest, on the trail to the Shawanese town of
AV'apatomica, nearly forty miles away.
Knight had not wholly abandoned the hope of es-
caping the torture, though his case looked wellnigh
hopeless. He carried as cheerful a countenance as
he could, concealed from his guard his knowledge of
the import of the black paint on his face, and con-
versed with him as well as he could, pretendiug that
he expected to be adopted into the Shawanese tribe
on arrival at their destination. Tutelu asked him if
he knew how to build a wigwam, and Knight assured
him that he was excellent at that business. All this
pleased the Indian, and to some extent threw him of!
his guard. Tiie journey of the first day was about
twenty-five miles. At the night-camp Tutelu again
bound his captive, and watched him closely through
the night, so that the doctor, although he tried hard
to free himself, did not succeed.
At daybreak Tutelu rose, stretched his limbs, un-
bound his captive, and renewed the fire, but did not
immediately prepare to resume the journey. They
had been greatly tormented by gnats during the night,
and the doctor asked him if he should make a smudge
in their rear to drive the pests away. Tutelu told him
to do so, whereupon Knight took two sticks (one of
them about a foot and a half in length, which was the
largest he could find), and holding a coal between
them carried it behind the Indian as if to start the
smudge, but as soon as he had got the right position
suddenly turned and dealt the savage a blow over
the head with all his strength, partially stunning him
and knocking him forward head first into the fire.
His hands were badly burned, but he immediately
recovered himself, rose, and ran away, uttering a
l.il .113 yell.' The doctor seized the Indian's gun
:ige of the Dela
lUcre. Ue (Tul.^l i
and followed him, determined to kill him ; but in his
eagerness he broke or disarranged the lock of the
piece, so that he could not fire. This being the case
he followed only a short distance, and then returned
to the place where they had passed the night.
Here the surgeon lost no time in making prepara-
tions for a desperate attempt to effect his escape from
the Indian country. He possessed himself of Tutelu'a
ammunition, his blanket, and an extra pair of mocca-
sins, and without delay commenced his long journey,
taking a course about east by north. All day he
traveled without molestation or notable incident, and
at night had emerged from the timbered country and
entered the Plains, where he made his lonely bivouac.
But he was too uneasy and anxious to remain long,
and so after two or three hours' rest resumed his way,
and travel ing all night, guided by the stars, had crossed
the open country and entered the forest to the east
before daylight appeared. During this day (June
14th) he struck the track of the troops on their out-
ward march, but having already received a severe
lesson on the danger of following this he avoided it
and took a north course, which he kept during the
rest of the day. That night he camped in the forest
and slept on undisturbed.
The next morning he shaped his course due east,
and moved on with greatly lightened spirits but ex-
ceedingly weak from lack of food. He could shoot
no game, ibr his utmost endeavors failed to put the
lock of his gun into working condition, and finding
at last that it was useless to make further attempts,
and that the piece could be only an encumbrance to
him, he threw it away. He caught a small turtle,
and occasionally succeeded in taking young birds, all
of which he ate raw. In this way, and by making
use of nourishing roots and herbs, he succeeded in
sustaining life through all the weary days of his jour-
ney to civilization. As he traveled eastward he found
heavier timber, and saw everywhere great quantities
of game, which was very tantalizing, as he could not
kill or catch any, although nearly famished.
For twenty days from the time of his escape from
his guard Tutelu, Dr. Knight traveled on through the
wilderness, unmolested by savages, but suffering ter-
ribly of hunger and cold,— for he had not the means
of making a fire, — and on the evening of July 3d
struck the Ohio Eiver about five miles below the
mouth of Beaver. On the 5th he arrived safely at
Fort Pitt,^ where he remained as surgeon of the
was false, nii.l that tlii; iloct.jr was a weak, jjuny man, wliertat the In-
dians ridiculed Tuteln without mercy.
- In .1 letter from Gi*n. Irvine to President Bloore, dated Fort Pitt,
Jnly5, 1782, lie says, "This moment Doctor Knight has arrived, the
surgeon I sent with the volunteers to Sandusky ; he was several days in
the hands of tlio Indians, hnt fortunately made his escape from his
keeper, who was condncling him to anotiier settlement to bo hound
[hnrned]. He biings the ilisagrceable account that Col. Crauford and
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Seventh Virginia Regiment until after the dechira- '
tion of peace.
James Paull was but a private soldier in the forces
of Col. Crawford, but as lie afterwards became an |
officer of some distinction, and was for many years a |
Very prominent citizen of Fayette County, it is proper ,
to make special mention of his adventures, escape,
and return from the disastrous expedition. [
When, on the evening of the oth of June, the forces '
of Col. Crawford commenced their retreat from Battle
Island, and the combined Delawares and Shawanese j
attacked the advance battalion under Maj. McClel-
land, it will be recollected that the three other divi- j
sions precipitately abandoned the' line of march and
moved away on a route diverging to the west, and
that soon afterwards the head of the column marched [
by mistake into a bog or swamp, where a number of
the volunteers lost their horses by reason of their
becoming mired in the soft muddy soil. Among
those who were thus dismounted were James Paull' ,
and the guide, John Slover, who was also a Fayette 1
County man (or rather a resident of that part of West-
moreland which afterwards became Fayette). Of
course they could not keep up with the mounted men
of the column, and as the Indians were then attack-
ing the rear, their situation was a very critical one.
Under these circumstances instant flight was neces-
sary, and accordingly Paull and Slover, with live
other dismounted men, struck into the woods in a
northerly direction, thinking it most prudent to keep
at a distance from the route of the column. They
continued on their course till the latter part of the
night, when they suddenly found themselves flounder-
ing in the mud of a bog, and were then compelled to
remain stationary until daylight enabled them to
move with more certainty and safety. They then
changed their course towards the west, but as they
progressed gradually wore round more to the south,
skirting the edge of the Plains, until they found them-
selves headed nearly southeast. During the day two
or three small parties of Indians were seen to pass
them, but by hiding in the long grass the party re-
mained undiscovered. At about three o'clock they
were overtaken by the furious rain-storm which (as
before noticed) came down just at the close' of Wil-
.'ill the rest (:iK.ut twilv,., to the tlocto
■s knowledge) who
fell into his
[llR-ir] hniids wery liUviR-.l to (li'illh i
.% most shouking
mnnor; the
i.nfuitimute coloiu-1 in [.uiticiiliir vaa
upwards of four ho
.rs burning.
Tlie reasuu they assiiju fir this mioul
union barlmlily is r
laliation for
the Moravian affuir. Tlie .luctor adJa
ih.t lie undei-stood
those people
had laid aside their i-eligiuus priuciple
and luivo goue to war; that he
saw two of them bring iu scaliis wlio
he formerly knew.'
—Peum,. Ar-
c/.iiM, 1781-83, p. 570.
1 John Slierrard, whose home was w
th the widowed mother of James
Panll, aii.l wlio was his particular fra-nd, sa^d that wlio
1 the forces
c> leiiLi-d moving on the retreat 1.
1 iri.i V"''- l''Hil
fast asleep,
and shook him, telling him that the ti
and that he
was iu danger of being left behind. I
1 to his feet,
liamson's battle with the Indians and Rangers. Paull
and his companions, being drenched and chilled
through, made a halt, and remained stationary until
evening. Then they again moved on to the eastern
edge of the Plains, and thence into the forest. Their
route since the morning had been the arc of a circle,
heading successively west, southwest, soutli, south-
east, east, and northeast, the latter being the di-
rection of their course when they entered the woods.
A few miles farther on they tu/ned nearly due e.ist,
thinking that they were far enough north of Wil-
liamson's track to be comparatively free from danger ■
of the pursuing savages. They had made rather slow,
progress, for one of the men was suffering from rheu-
matism in one of his knees, and one of Paull's feet'
was quite as much disabled by his accidentally step- 1
ping on a hot spade which some of the men «
using (in the afternoon of the oth) for baking bread
in preparation for the retreat of that evening.
On the following day (June 7th) the party con-
tinued on the same course, crossed the waters of the
tributaries of the Muskingum about noon, and at their
camp of the same night cooking the flesh of a fawn
which they had been fortunate enough to catch dur-
ing the day, this being the second meal that they had
eaten since leaving Battle Island. On their inarch of
this day the man afflicted with rheumatism had fallen
out, and the party now numbered but six.
Danger was now before them. They started on
their way at davbrcak in the morning of the 8th, and
had made some nine or ten miles' progress, when, at
about nine o'clock in the forenoon, they fell intc
ambuscade of Shawanese Indians, who had followed
their trail from the Plains. The savages fired on them
and two of the men fell. Paull ran for his life and
made his escape, notwithstanding his burned foot, but
Slover and the other two men were taken prisoners
and conducted back to the Shawanese towns.
Paull iu his flight was followed by two Indians, but.
he felt that his life was at stake, and strained his
limbs to their utmost speed, regardless of the pain \
his disabled foot. His pursuers found that he wasi
gaining on them and fired after him, but their shots:
passed harmlessly by. He soon came to the bluff
bank of a small stream, and unhesitatingly IcapSd
down. The savages came up to the bank, but there
I gave up the pursuit. He soon discovered that he \
no longer followed, but he was still very cautious in
his movements, using every precaution to cover his
trail. That night he slept in the hollow trunk of a
! fallen tree.
I From this time he pursued his way unmolested.
Passing down Sugar Creek, a tributary of the Mus-
I kingum, he came to the main stream at a place where
it was too deep to ford, which compelled him to
change his course up the river to a shallow place,
where he crossed in safety and with ease. Ne
, by this crossing was an old Indian camp, "where
there were a large number of empty kegs and barrels i
THE KEVOLUTION.
107
lying scattered around. It was now nearly dark ; so
he built a fire — the first he had ventured to kindle
since his escape from the ambuscade — and cooked
some of his venison (he had shot a deer in this day's
journey, it being the first time he had dared to dis-
charge his gun, for fear it might bring Indians upon
I him); the smoke, as he lay down to rest for the
night, protecting him from the gnats and mosquitoes,
which were very troublesome."
Two days after he made this night-camp on the
Muskingum, James PauU reached the west bank of
the Ohio River at a point a short distance above the
present site of Bridgeport. A little higher up the
river he found a favorable place for crossing, and
building a rude raft he ferried himself to the Virginia
side without much difiiculty, and for the first time
since the evening of the disastrous 5th of June felt
himself absolutely secure against capture.
Near the place where he landed on Virginia soil
he found a number of horses running loose. Impro-
vising a halter of twisted strips of elm bark, he com-
menced operations, having for their object the catch-
ing of one of the animals. For a long time his efforts
were unavailing, but necessity compelled him to per-
severe, and at lust he succeeded in placing his rude
halter-bridle on the head of a rather debilitated old
mare, on whose back he then mounted and started on
bis homeward journey. At Short Creek he procured
another horse and proceeded to Catfish (now Wash-
ington, Pa.), where he stopped for some time on
account of his foot being badly inflamed and very
painful. This soon became better under proper treat-
ment, and he returned home to Lis overjoyed mother,
who had been apprised of his arrival at Catfish, but
who had previously almost abandoned all hope of
ever again seeing her son.
John Slover and the two other men who had been
made prisoners by the Shawanese party at the time
when PauU made his escape from them were taken
by their captors back to the Indian main body on the
Plains, and thence to the Shawanese towns on Mad
River, which they reached on the lltli of June. On
their arrival they were received by an Indian crowd
such as always collected on such an occasion, and
were made to "run the gauntlet" between two files
of squaws and boys for a distance of some three
hundred yards to the council-house. One of the men
had been painted black (though why the Indians had
thus discriminated against this man does not appear),
and he was made a special target for the abuse and
blows of the barbarous gang. He reached the door
of the council-house barely alive, but was then pulled
liark and beaten and mangled to death, his body cut
in iiieces, and these stuck on poles about the village.
Slover and the other man ran the gauntlet without
fatal or very serious injury, but the latter was sent
away the same evening to another village, and no
more was heard of him. As to Slover, l;e was kept
at the village for two weeks, during which time coun-
cils were held daily and war-dances every night, to all
of which he was invited and most of which he at-
tended.' The Indians also assigned to him a squaw
as a companion, with whom he lived in comparative
freedom during his stay at the village.' Finally, a
council was held, at which it was decided that he
should be put to death by torture.
The next day "about forty warriors, accompanied
by George Girty, an adopted Delaware, a brother of
Simon and James Girty,'' came early in the morning
round the house where Slover was. He was .sitting
before the door. The squaw gave him up. They
put a rope around his neck, tied his arms behind his
back, stripped him naked, and blacked him in the
usual manner. Girty, as soon as he was tied, cursed
him, telling him he would get what he had many years
deserved. Slover was led to a town about five miles
away, to which a messenger had been dispatched to
desire them to prepare to receive him. Arriving at
the town, he was beaten with clubs and the pipe-ends
of their tomahawks, and was kept for some time tied
to a tree before a house-door. In the mean time the
inhabitants set out for another town about two miles
distant, where Slover was to be burnt, and where he
arrived about three o'clock in the afternoon. They
were now at Mac-a-chack, not far from the present site
of West Liberty, in Logan County. Here there was
a council-house also, as at Wapatomica,* but only a
part of it was covered. In the part without a roof was
a post about sixteen feet in height. Around this, at a
distance of about four feet, were three piles of wood
about three feet high. Slover was brought to the post,
his arms again tied behind him, and the thong or cord
with which they were bound was fastened to it. A rope
was also put about his neck and tied to the post about
four feet above his head. While they were tying him
the wood was kindled and began to flame. Just then
the wind began to blow, and in a very short time the
rain fell violently. The fire, which by this time had
begun to blaze considerably, was instantly extin-
guished. The rain lasted about a quarter of an
hour."^
The savages were amazed at this result, and per-
haps regarded it as an interposition of the Great
Spirit oti behalf of the prisoner. Tliey finally de-
cided to allow him to remain alive until morning.
ri- was not present. Tile war-
!,.«• With wlioni he liveil would
L largo quantity of sliirig. It
ireil wunia be nnivcd at,— to burn him.''— Kii«erftWii Eij ciUiU
ai„s( S„,„lm!.ij.
I James anJ George Girly, as well as Cart. Matthew Elliott, of the Bri
1 service, were present at the Shawnnese town, and took put in th
dian ctnincils before mentioned.
< The Indian village to which he had first been taken.
''• Buttorfleld'a** Expedition against Sandusky."
108
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
when, as they said, they would recommence the tor-
ture, and devote the whole day to it. He was then
unbound and made to sit on the ground, where he
was beaten, kicked, and otherwise maltreated by the
Indians, who continued dancing round him and yell-
ing till nearly midnight. Three guards were then de-
tailed to watch him during the rest of the night; he
was again bound and taken to a house, where a rope
was fastened about his neck and tied to a Ijeam of the
house. His guards kept awake taunting him about !
the torture he was to endure until towards morning,
when two of them fell asleep, and not long afterwards j
the other followed their example. Soon they were
all asleep, and when he was entirely sure that they [
were so Slover commenced attempts to unbind him-
self. He had comparatively little difficulty in slipping
the cords from one of liis wrists, which left him at
liberty to work at the rope around his neck. This he j
found much more securely tied, and he began to de-
spair of loosening it, as the daylight had begun to
appear and the Indians would soon be on the alert. ;
At last, however, he succeeded in untying the knots, i
and rose from his painful position, free, but still in
the greatest danger of discovery.
Stepping softly over the sleeping warriors, he quickly
left the house, and ran through the village into a corn-
field. Near by he saw several Imliaii horses grazing, j
and having with no little difficulty cauulit cue of these,
using the rope with which l-.e had bicn buund as a
halter, he mounted and n.de away, tirst slowly, then
more rapidly, and finally with all the speed of which j
the animal was capable. Xo alarm had been given
in the village, and he had therefore reason to believe
that the Indians were still ignorant of his escape.
Slover forced the horse to his utmost speed for a
long time, but gradually his jiaee slackened and grew
slower and slower until aljout two o'clock in the after-
noon, when, finding it impossible to urge him beyond j
a walking gait, he dismounted, left the animal, and
pushed on on foot. He had heard the distant halloo-
ing of Indians behind him, showing him that he was i
pu
but he kept on, using every precaution to
cover his trail as he proceeded. Ko Indians appeared,
and he traveled on without a moment's stop until ten
o'clock at night, when, being very sick and vomiting,
he halted to rest for two hours. At midnight the
moon rose, and he jiroceeded on, striking a trail,
which lie kc].t lill dayli-ht, and then, as a measure
of precaution, 1-lt ii. and struck through the woods
along a ridge at a right angle from his previous course.
This he continued for about fifteen miles, and then
changed to what he judged to be his true course.
From this point he met with no specially notable ad-
venture. On the third day he reached the Muskin-
gum, on the next he reached and crossed the Still-
water, and in the evening of the fifth day of his flight
he camped within five miles of Wheeling. Up to this
time he had not closed his eyes in sleep since he left
his cabin and squaw companion at Wapatomica.
Early on the following morning he came to the
Ohio River opposite the island at Wheeling, and see-
ing a man on the other side, called to him, and finally
induced him to come across and take him over in his
canoe, though at first he was very suspicious and un-
willing to cross to the west shore. On the 10th of
July Slover reached Fort Pitt.
Col. Crawford's nephew, William Crawford,' the
colonel's son-in-law, William Harrison,- and John
McClelland, of Fayette County, the third major of'
the expeditionary force, all lost their lives at the
hands of the Indian barbarians. It has already been,
noticed that when the unfortunate colonel was at
Pomoacan's headquarters, on the niglit before he
suffered the torture, he was told by Simon Girty that,
his nephew and son-in-law had been taken prisoners
but pardoned by the chiefs. This false story of their
escape from death reached the settlements by some
means, and the hearts of their relatives and friendsi
were thus cheered by hopes of their ultimate return.
No particulars of the time or manner of the deaths
of Harrison, McClelland, or young Crawford are
known, except that McClelland was shot from his
horse in the first attack by the Delawarcs and Shaw-
anese on the night of the 5th, but the fact of their
killing by the savages was established by John Slover,
who, on coming to the upper Shawanese town on the
evening of the 11th of June, saw there tlie mangled
bodies of three men bloody, powder-burned, and
mutilated, who, the Indians assured him, had been
killed just before his arrival ; and two of these he at
once recognized as the bodies of Harrison and young
Crawford. The other he was not entirely sure of, but
had no doubt that it was the corpse of Maj. McCl
land. At the same time the Indians pointed out two
horses, and asked him if he recognized them, to which
he answered that he did, and that they were the ones
which had been ridden by Harrison and Crawford, to
which the Indians replied that he was correct.
John Crawlbrd, the colonel's son, kept with Wil-
liamson's forces on their retreat to the Ohio, and
reached his home on the Youghiogheny in safety.
He afterwards removed to Kentucky, and died in that
State soon after his settlement there.
Philip Smith' was, as we have seen, an active par
ticipant in the battle of June 4th, in which he received
a wound in the elbow. When the retreat commenced
on the night of the 5th, he and a companion named
1 Son of V.-ilentine Crawford, of Foj-ette County.
- Husband of tin.* bcuutiful S.irHb Crawford, the colonel's d.iugbtc
3 At tliB lime when he volanteercd for Crawford's expedition, PI
Sinitb was a resident of tbat part of Westmoreland County wliicli t
after becjune Fnyetto. bis home being on a small tributary of George
Crcl,, s .;:,,,: ! I I ;i I, n_- n II, the expedition (in 17841 he ror
to 01,1 , '-,1' .luring the remainder of bis lift,
Hf«.- ii !■ ! . I , ■>! i, in ITOl.anddiedin Kabt 1
t,,\Mi.l.i: , w ,,;,,■.,., o'li , M , h JT, 1838. Several of bis di ldi<
THE REVOLUTION.
lOD
Kankin became separated from their company, and i
found themselves under the necessity of shifting for
themselves. Both had lost their horses, and they \
were without provisions, but had their guns and am- |
munition. They struck off from the track of the [
troops, and for two days were successful in evading
the savages. Most of their traveling was done by
night. They suffered greatly for food, for, though I
there was plenty of game, they were afraid to shoot
it, for fear that the noise of their pieces would bring I
Indians upon them. They ate berries and roots, and
once or twice were fortunate enough to catch young
birds. Afterwards they found an Indian pony, which
(not daring to shoot) Smith killed with his tomahawk
after repeated ineffectual strokes at it. The liver of
the animal was then taken out and broiled, and it
made what seemed to them a delicious meal.
On the night of the 7th, as they were moving along,
they were overtaken by two other fugitives, mounted.
The four now traveled on together for a time, when,
on a sudden, as they had stopped at a stream, a party
of Indians fired on them from the high bank, and the
two mounted men tumbled from their horses, dead.
Smith had just stooped to drink at the stream, and a
ball whizzed over his head; but he was unhurt, and
seizing the gun of one of the dead horsemen, he
leaped up the opposite bank and fled, but soon threw
away his gun. His companion, Rankin, had also
escaped injury from the Are of the savages, and was
running for life ahead of Smith. As the latter pressed
on towards him, Rankin, thinking that it was an
enemy who was pursuing, turned to shoot him, but
Smith saved himself by taking to a tree. This was
repeated three times, but finally Rankin discovered
that he was being pursued, not by an enemy, but by
his companion, Smith. The latter then joined him,
and the two ran on together and made their escape,
traveling all night, and making no halt until the
middle of the next forenoon, when they suddenly
came upon an Indian camp, which appeared to have
been very recently left by the party who had occu-
pied it, as the fires were still burning, and a kettle of
hominy was on one of them cooking. The fugitives
were half famished, but dared not eat the inviting
mess, fearing that it might have been poisoned. But
there was another object lying near the fire which
sent the blood curdling to their hearts. It was the
still warm dead body of a man who had been mur-
dered by the Indians and scalped, evidently while
alive, as the marks showed that he had drawn his
hand across the scalp- wound several times and
smeared his face with blood from it. It was a sick-
ening spectacle, and they were glad to fly from it
and from the dangerous proximity of the camp-fire,
where they were liable at any moment to be sur-
prised by the return of the savages.
They moved on in haste, and from that time saw
no Indians, nor any sign of any, though during the
succeeding night they heard whoopings, apparently a
8
long distance from them. At this warning they put
out their fire and moved away, traveling the rest of
the night. During the remainder of their flight no
incident of an exciting nature occurred, and on the
ninth day of their journey they reached the left bank
of the Ohio, foot-sore, famished, and emaciated, but
safe beyond reach of their savage enemies.
Nicholas Dawson (whose home was in what is now
North Union township, Fayette Co.) was one of the
volunteers under Crawford. In the disorder of the
night of the 5th of June he became separated from
his command and wandered away, with nothing to
guide him in the right direction. While attempting
thus to make his way alone he was met by James
Workman and another straggler, who saw that he
was heading towards Sandusky, and consequently
running directly into danger instead of escaping
from it. They tried to convince him that he was
wrong, but he obstinately insisted that he was not.
Finding it impossible to persuade him to change his
course, they at last told him that as he would cer-
tainly be taken by the Indians if he kept on, and as
it was better for him to die by the hands of wjiite
men than to be tortured by savages, they were deter-
mined to shoot him then and there unless he con-
sented to turn his course and go w^ith them. This
was an unanswerable argument, and Dawson finally
yielded to it, though with a very bad grace. He
changed his route, joined company with the two men,
and so succeeded in making his escape, and arrived
in safety at his home beyond the Monongahela.
John Sherrard, a private in the Sandusky expedi-
tion, was a man well and favorably known among the
early residents of Fayette County, and as he was also
one of Col. Crawford's most valuable men, it is not
improper to make special mention of his services and
adventures in the campaign. He does not come into
particular notice until the afternoon of June 4th,
when the northern and western borders of the grove
known as Battle Island were fringed with the fire of
the Pennsylvanians' rifles. In that conflict he held
his own with the best among the volunteers, until in
the excitement of the fight he drove a ball into the
barrel of his rifle without any powder behind it, and
by this means disarmed himself by rendering his
piece useless.
From this time he employed himself in bringing
water to his comrades in the grove from a stagnant
pool which he discovered beneath the roots of an up-
'; turned tree. This employment lacked the pleasur-
able excitement which was with the marksmen on the
battle-line, but it was quite as dangerous, for the balls
whistled past him continually as he pa.ssed to and
fro ; and it was also a service which could not be
1 dispensed with, for the battle-ground was entirely
without water (the river being more than a mile
awav\ and the terrible heat of the afternoon brought
110
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
extreme thirst to the brave men who held the flaming
line on the edge of the timber. Sherrard performed
this service well, and was uninjured by the bullets
which flew so thickly about him.
Again, on the 5th (his rifle being still unserviceable
for the reason before noticed), he was employed as a
water-carrier to the skirmishers. Years afterwards
he spoke of his experience on that day as follows :
" After searching the grove around I was fortunate
enough to find another supply, and again busied my-
self relieving the men of my company. At length,
overcome with heat and fatigue, I sat down at the
foot of a large oak-tree, and in a short time fell asleep.
How long I slept I cannot say. I was aroused by
some bark falling upon my head from above, which
had been knocked off the tree by the enemy. I then
resumed my task of carrying water."
In the disorder of the retreat on the night of the
"ith, Sherrard, like many others, became separated
irom his command, and being left in the extreme
rear, followed as well as he was able the trail of the
three divisions which took the route to the southwest
of the prescribed line of march. With him was
Daniel Harbaugh, also irom Fayette County, and to-
gether these two moved on in the darkness, expecting
every moment to_ be coiiiVontcd by Indians, but in
some unaccountable way they escaped discovery by
the savages during the night. Early in the following
morning, as they were riding through the woods, an
Indian was seen skulking in the undergrowth to their
left. Sherrard, who was first to see the savage, in-
stantly dismounted and took cover behind a tree, at
the same time warning Harbaugh to take a like pre-
caution. The latter not seeing the Indian and mis-
apprehending the direction of tlio danger took the
wrong side of his tr( c, nml luiirj thus fully exposed
was immediately shut, i.i i\ inj ilio fatal bullet in his
right breast. He sunk to die eartli, moaning, " Lord
liave mercy on me! I am a dead man," and died in a
few moments. Sherrard, with his gun at his shoulder,
watched closely for the Indian, intending to send a
l)ullet through him, but the smoke of the savage's
rifle hid him for a few seconds, and when this cleared
away Sherrard saw him running for his life and
beyond the range of his piece.
Slierrard examined the body of his fallen compan-
ion and found that life was extinct. The ghastly fea-
tures of the dead man and the suddenness of the event
horrified and almost unmanned him, but, collecting
liis thoUL'hts, in a mdiiioiit he took the saddle and bri-
ook fi-
die from
Then he I
comfortaljle saddle i
substituting for it tl
from Harhaugh's h
He had not gone far, 1
rse and turned him loose,
vu horse the rude and un-
rli 111' had been riding, and
111 niic which he had taken
lie mciunted and rode on.
ivever, before he recollected
lat in his excitement he had left behind his blanket
and provisions strapped to the abandoned saddle.
In his present situation he could not think of losing
these, so he returned to secure them. On reaching
the spot he found that the savage had returned,
stripped the scalp from Harhaugh's head, and cap-
tured the dead man's horse, bridle, and gun. But he
had not discovered the abandoned saddle, and Sher-
rard found it with the blanket and provisions undis-
turbed. These he at once secured, and having done
so left the spot and rode swiftly away. No more In-
dians were encountered by him, and two or three
hours later he had the good fortune to come up witli
the retreating force under Maj. ^Villiamson. Soon
after he rejoined his company, the battle of the 6th
of June (at Olentangy Creek) occurred, as has been
related.
From this place Sherrard marched with the column
on its retreat to Mingo Bottom, and arrived in safety
at his home, which at that time was at the house of
Mrs. Paull, the mother of James. To her he brought ii
the sad intelligence that her son was missing, and had '
not been seen nor heard of since the night of the 5th,
wdien the troops left Battle Island. This ominous re-
port nearly crushed the widowed mother, but she wa
afterwards made happy by the return of her son i
safety, as we have seen.
Some of the stragglers from the retreating column
under Williamson had reached the Ohio considerably
in advance of the main body. These stragglers ir
mediately returned to their homes, and spread through
the frontier settlements the most alarming and exag-
gerated reports' of ■ the disaster which had befallen
the expedition. These reports not only caused great
grief and extreme anxiety for the fate of relatives
and friends wlio were with the forces of Col. Craw-
ford, but the wildest consternation also, for it was
feared and believed that the victorious savages — red
and white — ivould soon be across the Ohio, and would
carry devastation and butchery to the valleys of the
Monongahela and Y'ougliiogheny. When the grief
and anxiety of the people was to a great extent al-
layed by the return of the volunteers, and the conse-
quent discovery that the disaster was by no means i
overwhelming as had at first been reported, the dreads
of Indian invasion still remained, and the bold fron-.
tiersmen, discarding the idea of waiting for the coming i
of the foe and then merely standing on the defensive,
began at once to urge the forming of a new expedi-
tion to carry the war into the heart of the Indian i
country, and to prosecute it to the point of extermi-
nation, or at least to the destruction of the Wyandot,
Delaware, and Shawanese towns, for they believed thati
in no other way could security be had for the settle-
ments along the border. It was the wish of the lead-
1 The earliest reports which obtained currency were to the effect t
the army of Crawford was almost annihilated, and that the Indians w
pursuing them to the Oliio, and would douLtlcss cross the river and carij
rapine and desolation through the border settlements. Tlie fact waBi
that, including all those killed in battle, those who afterwards died<i«
wounds, those wlio suffered death at the hiinds of their savage captors
and those who were missing and never heard from, the total loss sua-
THE EEVOLUTION.
Ill
;iiiits — sucli men as Maj. Gaildis, Williamson,
M:ir>li;il, and Edward Cook — tliat tlie proposed expe-
litiiiii should be made as strong, numerically, as pos-
bk', that it should include, besides volunteers from
the militia of Westmoreland and Wasliington Conn-
ies and the Pan Handle of Virginia, as many regu-
lar Continental troops as could be spared from Fort
Pitt, and that it should be commanded by Gen. Irvine
n i)erson.
Capts. Robert Beall and Thomas Moore, of the
Westmoreland County militia, wrote from near Stew-
ut's Crossings, under date of June 23d, to Gen. Irvine,
uforming of the sentiment of the people in favor of
new expedition. "The unfortunate miscarriage of
he late expedition," they said, " the common interest
i)f our country, and the loss of our friends induce
13 to be thus forward in proposing another. . . . We
lo not wish to be understood as giving our own pri-
vate sentiments, but of those of the people generally
n our quarter; for which purpose we are authorized
address you, and from accounts well authenticated
sure you it is the wish of the people on this side
he Monongahela River without a dissenting voice."
From the west side of theMonongahela, John Evans,
ieutenant of Monongalia County, Va., wrote Irvine
1 weclv later (June 30th), informing him that Indians
lad made their appearance in that quarter, and that
;reat alarm was felt in consequence, adding, "With-
>ut your assistance I much fear our settlements will
)reak. The defeat of Col. Crawford occasions much
Iread."
In his reply to Beall and Moore (dated June 26th)
Jen. Irvine said, "Inclination as well as duty is a
lontinual spur to me, not only to acquiesce in, but to
ncourage every measure adopted for the public good.
four proposals on this occasion are so truly patriotic
■nd spirited that I should look on myself unpardon-
ble were I to pass them unnoticed." In a letter
if the same date, addressed to Col. Edward Cook,
ieutenant of Westmoreland County,' Irvine said,
'Your people seem so much in earnest that I am led
o think, if other parts of the country are so spirited
tnd patriotic, something may probably be done, but
l.s it will take some time to come to a proper knowl-
ilgv of this matter, and that must be accurately done,
liuiv can be no harm in making the experiment. . . .
, have no intimation of any plan being on foot in
fV'ashington County for this purpose, though it is said
he people wish another expedition."
The project of raising another force for the invasion
f the Indian country seems to have originated with
he people of that part of Westmoreland which is now
"ayette County. The manner in which it was pro-
)0sed to form it and carry it through to a successful
ssue is indicated in a letter written by Gen. Irvine
o the Secretary of War, Gen. Lincoln, on the 1st of
the Monongaliela, at the pla'
July, from which the following extracts are made:
" The disaster has not abated the ardor or desire for
revenge (as they term it) of these people. A number
of the most respectable are urging me strenuously to
take command of them, and add as many Continental
officers and soldiers as can be spared, particularly ofli-
cers, as they attribute the defeat to the want of expe-
rience in their officers. They cannot nor will not rest
under any plan on the defensive, however well exe-
cuted, and think their only safety depends on the total
destruction of all the Indian settlements witliin two
hundred miles; this, it is true, they are taught by
dear-bought experience.
" They propose to raise by subscription six or seven
hundred men, provisions for them for forty days, and
horses to carry it, clear of expense to the public, un-
less government at its own time shall think proper to
reimburse them. The 1st of August they talk of as-
sembling, if I think proper to encourage them. I am
by no means fond of such commands, nor am I san-
guine in my expectations, but rather doubtful of the
consequences ; and yet absolutely to refuse having
anything to do with them, when their proposals are
so generous and seemingly spirited, I conceive ^Vould
not do well either, especially as people too generally,
particularly in this quarter, are subject to be clamorous
and to charge Continental officers with want of zeal,
activity, and inclination of doing the needful for their
protection. I have declined giving them an immedi-
ate, direct answer, and have informed them that my
going depends on circumstances, and in the mean time
I have called for returns of the men who may be de-
pended on to go, and the subscriptions of provisions
and horses. The distance to lieadquarters is so great
that it is uncertain whether an express could return
in time with the commander-in-chief's instructions.
"As you must know whether any movements will
take place in this quarter, or if you are of the opinion
it would on any account be improper for me to leave
the post, I request you would please to write me by
express. But if no answer arrives before or about
the 1st of August, I shall take for granted you have
no objections, and that I may act discretionally.
Should it be judged expedient for me to go the
greatest number of troops fit to march will not exceed
one hundred. The militia are pressing that I shall
take all the Continentals along, and leave the defense
of the fort to them ; but this I shall by no means do.
If circumstances should s.-em in rL-quire it, I shall
throw in a few militia with those regulars left, but
under Continental officers."
There were good grounds for the alarm felt by the
people between the Ohio and the mountains, for a
few days after the return of Williamson's forces the
Indians appeared in large numbers along the west
bank of the Ohio, their main force being concentrated
at Mingo Bottom, with smaller parties at various
points on both sides of the river, and these were
closely and constantly watched by several detachments
n;
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
of the militia of Washington County. The settlers
west of the Monongahela were almost in a state of
panic. Col. Marshal, of Washington Count}-, wrote
Gen. Irvine on the 4th of July, informing him that
the people of that section were determined to abandon
their settlements if a force was not sent to protect i
them. A great number of the inhabitants moved
from their homes to the shelter of the forts and block-
houses. Nearly as much consternation prevailed in J
the settlements east of the Monongahela, and the
general alarm was greatly increased by the sudden
j'.ppearance of the enemy in Westmoreland County,
where, on the 11th of July, they killed and scalped
three sons of Mr. Chambers, and two days later, at-
tacked and burned the old county seat of Westmore-
land, Hannastown. This event was narrated in a
letter' written by Ephraim Douglass to Gen. James
Irvine, dated July 2G, 1782, as follows :
" My last contained some account of the destruction
of Hanna's Town, but it was an imperfect one ; tlie
damage was greater than we then knew, and attended
with circumstances different from my representation
of them. There were nine killed and twelve carried
off prisoners, and instead of some of the houses u-ithoiit
the fort being defended by our people, they all retired
within the miserable stockade, and the enemy pos-
sessed themselves of the forsaken houses, from whence
they kept up a continual fire upon the fort from about
twelve o'clock till night without doing any other
damage than wounding one little girl within the
walls. They carried away a great number of horses
and evervthiue of value in the deserted houses, de-
stroyed all the cattle, h<
reach, and burned all t
cept two; these they al~
it did not extend itsuli'
several houses round tli
the same manner, and :i
either uuinlcicl or raw
since suflercd a similar W
a day but they have beei
of tl
and ponltry within their
liniises in the village ex-
ct lire to, but fortunately I
lai- as to consume them;
■'luiitry were destroyed in I
iilicr of unhappy ftimilies '
otr captives ; some have i
in difi'erent parts ; hardly I
iscovered in some rpiarter
country, and the poor inhabitants struck witli
terror through the whole extent of our frontier.
Where this party set out from is not certainly known;
several circumstances induce the belief of their |
coming from the head of the Allegheny, or towards
Niagara, rather than from Sandusky or the neighbor-
hood of Lake Erie. The great number of whites,
known liy their language to have been in the party,
the direction <>( tlirir retreat when they left the j
country, whirh was towards the Kittanning, and no
appearance of their narks cither coming or going
having been discovered liy the ollicer and party which
the L'eneral- ordered on that service bevond the river.
sincerely to be wished, on account of the unfortunate
captives who have fallen into their hands, that it may
be true, for the enraged Dehuvares renounce the idea
of taking any prisoners but for cruel purposes of
torture."
Intelligence of the attack on and destruction of
Hannastown did not reach Gen. Irvine, at Fort Pitt,
until three days after the occurrence, and of course
it was then too late for the commandant to send a
force in pursuit of the savages with any hope of suc-
cess. The Indians who made the foray were from the ■
north, mostly Mingoes. The surviving prisoners cap-
tured at Hannastown and Miller's were taken to
Niagara and delivered to the British military authori-
ties there. At the close of the war they were delivered
up and returned to their homes.
Before the events above narrated. Gen. Irvine wrote
(July 11th) to Gen. Washington, saying that the
people were constantly growing more determined in i
their efforts to raise a new force to operate against the
Sandusky towns, that solicitations to him to assist in .
it and to assume the command were increasing daily,
and that the militia officers had actually commenced
preparations for the expedition. The news of the i
descent of the savages on Hannastown caused these
preparations to be urged with greater energy by the
bolder and more determined men, while it increased
the general alarm and apprehension in a great degree.
Gen. Irvine, in a letter witten to President Moore, of
the Executive Council, on the lOth of July, said, in
reference to the probable results of this aflliir, " I fear
this stroke will intimidate the inhabitants so much
that it will not be possible to rally them or persuade
them to make a stand. Nothing in my power shall
be left undone to countenance and encourage them."
Notwithstanding Gen. Irvine's fears to the contrary,
the raising of the new expedition was strenuously
urged, and pushed forward with all possible vigor by
the principal officers of the militia in this region.
The commanding officers of companies at that time
in what is now Fayette County were:
Capt. John Beeson. Capt. Moses Sutton.
" Theophilus Phillips. " Michael Catts.
" Ichabod Ashcraft.
John Hardin.
John Powers.
Daniel Canon.
Robert Beall.
JIcFarlin.
Evan.
all.
ispir
to SUl
■jjort
is be
and I think it is
possesion of tlic
Historical Society.
" James Dougherty.
" Armstrong Porter.
" Cornelius Lynch.
" William Hayney. "
" Nichols. "
Capt. Thos. Moore.
Every person liable to do military duty was required
to report to the commanding officer of the company
in which he was enrolled. Other than clearly estab-
lished physical disability, or having served in the
then recent campaign under Col. Crawford, very few
pleas for exemption from service were deemed valid.
Men were required to perform regular tours of duty-
at the several "stations" in anticipation of Indian at-
THE REVOLUTION.
113
lut were excused from this duty if disposed to
ear for tlje new expedition.'
11 iiy of tliese facts nre obtained from tlio old manuscript liook wliicli
[ill 111 fxistcnco in the court-house at Uniontown, and contains the
iiiii s of tlie several military "Courts of Appeal" held in the spring
-11 ler of 178J, as bi-foro mentioned. Some extracts from tliese
1/ ^ r„uHo_f Aiipctil held ut Bcfsoirs Town (he blli day of A,„jusl,VK'l.
" Present
l-MuiiU-r M'Clean \ Members jI-'ent-Kobert Kichey.Esq'
111. Lieut, for Wesf County i * I. Ensign William McCoy.
" Ciiptain Ichahod AshcrafCs lieturn.
.1 In Griffith.— Excused on Oath of inaMlity of Body.
Al ■Minder Buchanan.— .*dam McDiflerfy appears a Substitute for
M. n, but chooses i-athcr to go on the Expedition, lie is therefore
u-iLil lor that purpose.
Joshua Robinson.— Substitute, Daniel Barton, for the Station.
Thomas Bowel.— Excused on the Credit of his brother, Buzil Bowel,
»ho is Enrolled under Cupt. Ashcraft for the Expedition.
" dipt, Daniel Cannon's lieturn— lUi Clasfi.
' Matthey Willey.— Clerk to the Company, to turn out on duty with
i Capt.
'James Kobeson.— His son aT.dunteer for the Espedil ion— Enrolled.
'Buiditt Clifton.— Kendezvousod agreeable to Cji'dcr the 3llthJulyat
Sob' Itogers.
nu< r.ui ns.— A Volunteer for the Expedition.
:., . I , 1 ,, 1,, I : i:m iisi'd on acct of a Tour on the r.elief of
" :\l i> l,:i. 1 h.il. \ 1 \> i;-. fl nil Oath of present inability of Body.
I "IMiilip Ivocurd.s.— Kxcurifd on ace' of Services perform'^ on Mackin-
losh's Campaign by Alexander M'Clean.
" Captain SaUon'a Beluru—bth date.
"James Donaldson.— Excused on ac.ount of Services perfoimed on
RCkintosh's Ciimpaigu, not before credited for.
"Obadiah Stillwell — Levi Bridgewater excuses him by a tour on the
mdusky.
" John Hawthorn.— David Brooks, a Substitute, appeal^ for the Station.
"Webb Ilaydeu.— Appears for Station; excused I'y William Jolliff, on
spedltion.
"John Scott.— Bit by a Snake, & not able to perform the next Tour.
" Capl. neeeon's Return— Gth Class.
"Thomas Brownfield.— To be determined by the Court of Common
Pleas.
Samuel Eich.— John Beeson answers a Tour of Duty by the Relief
>f Tuscarawas
ristian Countryman. — Excused on Condition He pcrfoim the next
Four of Duty yet to be Ordered.
Ben. Curler. — loliu Orr, of Capt. Sutton's Company, answers a Tour
on Sandusky E.\n.
John Stilt.— Produced a Certificate of his having produced a Substi-
tute during the War.
Samuel Boyd.— Excused on account of Two Tours of duty allowed
liy Capt. .\ndersou for bringing in prisoners from Carolina taken by
Coll" Morgan.
Jolm M'Clean, Jun'.— Performed on the Line [meaning a tour of
luty as one of tlie guards to the surveyors runniug the line between
Pennsylvania and Virginia].
At a Court of Appeal held at Union 1
"Alexander M'Clean, Sub. Lt. Esq'
■ mh <
asun, 1782.
Daniel
alp.
" J?e(iira of Capt. Eeall.
'James Stephenson.— At the Station.
'John Love. — .Vn apprentice to BIr. Craftcort, A was
when Hannahs Town wMs destroyed, and continued ther
rather.
'Moses White.— At the Station.
"Thomas Stasey.— Enrolled for the Expedition.
Tlie destruction of Hannastown was quickly fol-
lowed by other Indian forays at various points along
the border, and as the continual alarms caused by
these attacks rendered it nece.ssary to keep large num-
bers of the militiamen constantly on duty at the sta-
tions, it soon became apparent that the requisite num-
ber of volunteers could not be raised and equipped
for the new expedition by the time originally desig-
nated, which was the 1st of August.'^ "The incur-
sions of the Indians on the frontier of this country,"
said Gen. Irvine, in a letter written on the 25th of
July to the Secretary of War, " will unavoidably pre-
vent the militia from assembling as soon as the 1st of
August. Indeed, I begin to entertain doubts of their
being able to r.iise and equip the proposed number
this season." Under these circumstances the general
thought it proper to extend the time of preparation
for the expedition, and accordingly he directed that
the forces should assemble on September 20th (in-
stead of August 1st), at Fort Mcintosh, as a general
rendezvous, and march thence to the invasion of the
Indian country.'
In the mean time the Indians continued to grow
bolder and more aggressive in their attacks along the
border. On the night of the 11th of September an
Indian force of two hundred and sixty warriors, under
the renegade George Girty (brother of the infiimous
Simon), accompanied by a detachment of about forty
British Rangers from Detroit, under Capt. Pratt, of the
royal service, attacked the fort at Wheeling,' but were
repulsed. Other attempts were made by them during
the day and night of the 12th, but with no better suc-
cess. In the morning of the 13th the besiegers with-
drew from Wheeling, but proceeded to attack Rice's
fort, some fourteen miles distant. There also they
were repulsed, their loss being four warriors killed.
These and other attacks at various points on the
frontier materially dampened the ardor of the people
The book contains a great number of entries simil.ir to those given
above. It closes with minutes of business done " At a Court of Appeal
held at Riffles Fort, the thirtl day of September, 1782.
" Present.— Alexander M'Clean, Sub Lieut. Presii
Andrew Ki.bb,EsqMji^„,^„,„
John P. Duvall. i
- The volunteers for the expedition in that part of Westmoreland
County which is now Fayette were ordered to rendezvous at Beesons-
town (Uniontown) on the 00th of July, to proceed thence to the general
rendezvous at tlio month of Beav.-r.
a Both ihi-si iii- ml ■; n. 1 ii -: ■ ' ni ii , I i] i.Tovod theplauof the
' 11, who made his es-
iiii.i;: ■i.ni...:l I I . ilu- ^t,^kefor tortnre,as
an extended series of operations against the frontier settlements, and
that among these projected operations was an attack in force on the
post at Wlieeling. This information he said he ff.iined by bein^ present
at their councils for several days while in <;i|itiv it v, mol hilly under-
stiinding every word tliat was uttered by tlo> . hi I- "i Hi ■cr.sijns,
as he was entirely familiar with the Delawm .-, w , m i^i, .n 1 >lKiwanese
languages. The tale which he brought of Ibese imI..-ii.Ii-.I (.-.xpiilitions by
the Indians against the white settlements was not believed by Cook.
Marshal, Gaddls, and Gen. Irvine, but the result proved that Slover had
neither misunderstood nor falsified the intentions of the savages as
expressed by their chiefs in council,
lU
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUxN'TY, PENNSYLVANIA.
with regard to the expedition, though the govern-
ment had ordered that a considerable body of regular
Continental trooiDs should accompany it, in accord-
ance with the requests of Col. Cook, Col. Marshal, and
several of the more prominent among the officers of
the militia between the Monongahela and Youghio-
gheny Rivers. The minutes of the " Courts of Ap-
peal," before referred to, indicate that in what is now
Fayette County the men liable to railitarj duty were,
after the 1st of August, 1782, much less disposed than
before to volunteer for the expedition in preference
to doing duty on the stations in the vicinity of their
homes.
On the ISth of September, two daj-s before the
time which he had appointed for the rendezvous at
Fort Mcintosh, Gen. Irvine addressed communica-
tions to Col. Edward Cook (of Cookstown, now Fay-
ette City) and Col. Marshal, respectively county lieu-
tenants of Westmorehind and Washington, saying,
"I have this moment received dispatches from the
Secretary of War informing me that some regular
troojis are ordered from below to assist us in our
intended expedition. I am therefore to beg you
will immediately countermand the march of the vol-
unteers and others of your counties until further
orders. As soon as I am positively assured of the
time the troops will be here I shall give you the
earliest notice." But the notification was never
given, for the war between England and the United
States was virtually closed, and with the approach of
peace the Secretary of War countermanded the order
for the regulars to join in the expedition.
A letter from (tcu. Lincoln to Gen. Irvine, dated
September 27th, notified the latter that information
had l)een received from Gen. Washington to the effect
th.it " the Indians are all called in" (by the British
government). It is evident that on the receipt of this
communication, a few days later, Irvine abandoned all
idea of prosecuting the expedition, and on the 18th
of October, in a letter to Col. Cook, he said, "I re-
ceived your letter by Sergt. Porter, and one last night
from Col. JIarshal, which is full of despondency.
Indeeil, by all accounts I can collect, it would be
vain to insist on bringing the few willing people to
the general rendezvous, as there is not the mo.st dis-
tant ]iros|H'ct that half sufficient would assemble.
Under tlii' circumstance^ I think it will bo most ad-
visiiMc t'. Mivc up tlic mutter at cnice, and direct the
provisions and otlicr articles be restored to the
owners."
About two weeks after Gen. Irvine wrote this letter
lie received official notification from tiie Secretary of
War (dated October 30th I that the Indian expedition
had been abandoned, and thereui)on the fact was of-
ficially communicated to the lieutenants of West-
moreland and Washington Counties. This ended all
thoughts of raising a force to invade the Indian
country, and it also closed the military history of
this section of coiintrv for the period of the war of
the Revolution. After the official proclamation of
peace, however, and as late as the end of the spring
of 1783, Indian depredations were continued to some
extent along the Western Peunsylvania and Virginia
border, though none of these are found reported as
having been committed within the territory which
now forms the countv of Favette.
CHAPTER XII.
TENNSTLVANIA AXD VIRGIXIA TERRITORIAL COX-
TROVERSY — ESTABLI.SHMEXT OF BOUNDARIES -
SLAVERY AXD SERVITUDE.
Throfgh a period of about thirty years from the
time when the first white settlements were m.ade be-
tween the Monongahela and Youghiogheny Rivers
there existed a controversy (which more than once
threatened to break out into open hostility) between
Pennsylvania and Virginia as to the ownership of
the country lying to the westward of the Laurel Hill,
both governments at the same time vigorously assert-
ing their respective rights to jurisdiction over the ter-
ritory in question. This dispute was partly in regard
to the location of the east-and-west line forming the
boundary between the two provinces (afterwards
States), but chiefly in reference to the establishment
of the western boundary of Pennsylvania, which would
also be the eastern boundary of Virginia in that lati-
tude.
The royal grant of Pennsylvania to the first propria
etary authorized the extension of its western limi
a distance of five degrees of longitude west froi
the Delaware River, and the question of where th
end of those five degrees would fall was the princips
one at issue in the long and bitter controversy whicl
followed. By the government and partisans of Vii
ginia it was confidently believed that under that gran
Pennsylvania's western boundary must be as far c
as the Laurel Hill, which would give to their provi
(or State) all the territory between that mouatai:
range and the Ohio River; while, on the contrarj
Pennsylvania insisted that the measurement of tb
five degrees would extend her limits to a point sev
eral miles west of the confluence of the AUeghen
and Monongahela Rivers. And it was the realizatii
of the prospective importance of that point, the sil
of the present city of Pittsburgh, which first open'
the contest between the rival claimants of the cove
territory, which embraced this " key to the Ohi
Valley," and to the inviting regions of the West.
In the formation, plans, and brief operations of
Ohio Company, which have already been noticed,
is evident that the persons composing that company
(most of whom were Virginians) believed that the
country about the "forks of the Ohio," and, in fact,
all to the westward of the Laurel Hill, was withiu the..
PENNSYLVANIA AND VIRGINIA TEKRITORIAL CONTROVERSY.
llj
jurisdiction of Virginia, or at least beyond that of
Pennsylvania. The first attempt to build a fort where
Pittsburgh now stands was made by a company of
Virginians, under the Virginian captain, Trent. It
was the Virginia Governor, Dinwiddio, who sent
Washington on his mission in 1753 to the French
posts on the Allegheny, and who sent him again in
1754 to endeavor to take and keep possession of
this region by military force; and Virginians, more
largely than troops of any of the other provinces,
marched with Braddock in 1755 in the unsuccessful
attempt to wrest this territory from the power of the
French. Thus the Virginians, believing that the
trans-xVlleglieny country belonged to their province,
had been forward iu all the measures taken for its oc-
cupation and defense, while Pennsylvania had, up to
that time, done little or nothing in that direction.
But as early as the beginning of the year 1754,
Pennsylvania, though making no active effort to hold
and defend the bordering country Allegheny and Mo-
nongahela Rivers, began to see the value and import-
ance of the point at the head of the Ohio, where Capt.
Trent had commenced the erection of a fort for the
Ohio Company (afterwuds Fort Du Quesne, and later
Fort Pitt). The first entry which has been found in
the official records of Pennsylvania concerning the
matter is as follows: "March 12, 1754, evidence sent
to the House that Venango and Logstown, where the
French forts are built, are in the province of Penn-
sylvania." And a little later came Virginia's rejoin-
der, in a letter written by Governor Dinwiddle to
Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, dated March
21, 1754, in which the former said, " I am much mis-
led by our surveyors if the forks of the Monougahe'.a
be within the bounds of the province of Pennsyl-
vania." This may be regarded as the beginning of
the controversy, but the defeat of Washington and
Braddock, which followed soon after, caused the
matter to be held in abeyance for a number of j'ears;
for neither Pennsylvania nor Virginia thought it
worth while to quarrel over their respective claims to
a country which was in the full and absolute posses-
sion of the French.
After the expulsion of the French power by the
military forces under Forbes in 1758, and the conse-
quent occupation of the country by the English, the
rival claims of Pennsylvania and Virginia were again
revived ; but no collisions occurred nor was any very
general dissatisfaction apparent until after the forma-
tion of the Pennsylvania county of Bedford, to extend
across the mountains to the western limit of the pro-
vince, covering the disputed territory west of Laurel
Hill, claimed by Virginia to be within her county of
Augusta, which had been laid out thirty-three years
earlier. Upon the erection of Bedford (March 9,
1771), the officers of that county were directed to
collect taxes from the inhabitants west of the moun-
tains for the establishment of courts and the erection
of county buildings at Bedford; and this created a
wide-spread feeling of dissatisfaction, and a deter-
mination to resist thecollection, which state of affairs
is noticed in a letter written by Robert Lettis Hooper,
Jr., to his Excellency Governor William Franklin ,
of New Jersey. The following is an extract from the
letter, in question, viz. :
"FonT Pitt, Sept. 1.0,177:;.
" Sir, — A few Days ago I was at Redstone, when I
had an opportunity of knowing the sentiments of the
People of that Part of the Country with Respect to
the Western Boundaiy of Pennsylvania, and find a
great Number of them are determined to pay no
respect to the Institution of the Court at Bedford.
They believe the Western Boundary of Pennsylvania
will not extend so far a; Redstone Settlement, and say
it is an imposition to oblige them to pay taxes for
Building Court Houses, &c., in Bedford County when
there is the greatest probability of their being out of
Pennsylvania, and that they shall be obliged to con-
tribute to publick Uses in the New Colony. These
sentiments do not proceed from Licentiousness in the
People, nor from a desire to screen themselves from
Law as some would represent, but from believing
themselves out of Pennsylvania and being burthened
with exorbitant Taxes and Mileage, which they are
unwilling to pay till it is absolutely determined
whether they are in Pennsylvania or not.
" The Sheriff of Bedford County told me he had
Governor Penn's orders to execute his office as far as
the Settlements did extend on the Ohio, and even to
the Kenhaways, which the Governor must know is
fiir below the Western Boundary of Pennsylvania ;
and though he dare not attempt it, yet I think it my
Duty to inform your Excellency that the settling of
this Country is much hindered by these Disputes, and
that many respectable and substantial settlers are
prevented from coming into it by these Disputes, and
to the great injury of the Gentlemen who have ob-
tained a Grant on the Ohio. . . ."
After the erection of Westmoreland County from
the western part of Bedford in 1773, the popular dis-
satisfaction was less, but by no means wholly allayed ;
and a considerable portion of the people still re-
mained favorable to the claims of Virginia.
About the beginning of the year 1774, Lord Dun-
more, Governor of Virginia, developed his determina-
tion to use strong measures for the assertion of the
claims of his province to jurisdiction over the dis-
puted territory. To this, it was said, he was incited
by Col. George Croghau and his neijhew, Dr. John
Connolly, an intriguing and ambitious p.arlisau resid-
ing at Fort Pitt. Connolly had visited the Governor
at Williamsburg, and now returned with a captain's
commission, and power and directions from the Gov-
ernor to take possession of the Monongahela country
and the region around Fort Pitt, in the name of the
king. Upon this he issued his proclamation to the
people in the vicinity of Redstone and Fort Pitt to
iii;
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
meet on the 25th of January in the year named, to be
embodied as Virginia militia. Miny assembled in
uccordance with the proclamation ; but in the mean
time Connolly was arrested by Capt. Arthur St. Clair,
as an officer of Westmoreland County, and the militia
were lor the time dispersed;^ but after Connollj^'s re-
lease he, with the aid of the militia, took possession
of Fort Pitt, which he pretended to name, in honor of
liis patron, Fort Dunmore. Some of the means which
he took to enforce the authority are set forth in the
letter ad<lressed to Governor Penn by William Craw-
Cord, who was then presiding justice of the courts of
Westmoreland, and a resident in that part of the
county which afterwards became Fayette. It is
luuper to state here that he soon afterwards turned
against the Pennsylvania interest, and became one of
the most active partisans of Virginia, and a civil
officer under that government. The letter in question
was as follows :
'• WEiTMnREI.AXD CoVXTV, April IS, ITTi.
''Sir, — As some very extraordinary occurrences
have lately happened in this county, it is necessary
to write an account of them to you. That which I
now give is at the request and with the approbation
of the magistrates that are at present attending the
court. A few weeks ago Mr. Connolly went to
Staunton [Va.t, and wa,~ sworn in as a Justice of the
peace for Augu-ia t.'i.uiity, in which it is ])retended
that the country around Pittsburgh is included. He
had before this brought from Williamsburg com-
missions of the peace for several gentlemen in this
part of the province, but none of them, I believe,
have been accepted of. A number of new militia
officers have been lately appointed by Lord Dunmore.
Several musters of the militia have been held, and
much confusion Ii:is 1h fii orcasioned by them. I am
inlbrmed that the militia i^ composed of men without
character and without fortune, and who would be
equally averse to the regular administration of justice
under the colony of Virginia as they are to that
under the province of Pennsylv.ania. The disturb-
ances which they liavr |.i-oilui'i..l at Pittsburgh have
been particularly alaniiiiig to tlie iiihaliitants. Mr.
Connolly is constantly surrounded with a body of
armed men. He boasts of the countenance of the
Governor of Virginia, and forcibly obstructs the exe-
cution of legal process, whether from the court or
single magistrates. A deputy sheriff has come from
Augusta County, and I am told he has writs in his
hands against Capt. St. Clair' and the sheriff for
tlic arrest and confinement of Mr. Connolly. The
sheriff was last week arrested at Pittsburgh for serving
a writ on one of the inhabitants there, but was, after
some time, discharged. Oii Monday last one of Con-
nolly's people grossly insulted Jlr. Mackay, aud was
confined by him, in order to be sent to jail. The
rest of the party hearing it, immediately came to
Mr. Mackay's house and proceeded to the most vio-
lent outrages. Sirs. Mackay was wounded in the arm
with a cutlass. The magistrates and those who came
to their assistance were treated with much abuse, and
the prisoner was rescued.
"Some days before the meeting of the court a re-
port was spread that the militia officers, at the head
of their several companies, would come to Mr. Han-
na's, use the court ill, and interrupt the administra-
tion of justice. On Wednesday, while the court was
adjourned, they came to the court-house [at Hannas-
town, Westmoreland County] and paraded before it.
Sentinels were placed at the door, and Mr. Connolly
went into the house. One of the magistrates was
hindered by the militia from going into it till permis-
sion was first obtained from their commander. Mr.
Connolly sent a message to the magistrates informing
them that he wanted to communicate something to
them, and would wait on them for that purpose.
They received him in a private room. He read to
them the inclosed paper,ltogether with a copy of a
letter to you, which Lord Dunmore had transmitted
to him, inclosed in a letter to himself, which was
written in the same angry and undignified style.
The magistrates gave the inclosed answer to what he
read, and he soon afterwards departed with his men.
Their number w.as about one hundred and eighty
or two hundred. On their return to Pittsburgh some
of them seized Mr. Elliott, of the Bullock Pens, and
threatened to put him in the stocks for something
which tliey deemed an affront offered to their com-
mander. Since their return a certain Edward Thomp-
son and a young man who keeps store for Mr. Spear
have been arrested by them, and Mr. Connolly, who
in person seized the young man, would not allow him
time even to lock up the store. In other parts of the
country, particularly those adjoining the river Monon-
gahela, the magistrates have been frequently in-
sulted in the most indecent and violent manner, and
are apprehensive that unless they are speedily and
vigorously supported by government it will become
both fruitless and dangerous for them to proceed to
the execution of their ofl5ces. They presume not to
point out the measures proper for settling the present
disturbances, but beg leave to recommend the fixing
of a temporary line with the utmost expedition as
one step which in all probability will contribute very
much towards producing that effect. For further
particulars concerning the situation of the country
I refer you to Colonel Wilson, who is kind enough to-
go on the present occasion to Philadelphia. I am,
sir, vour verv humble servant,
"W. Crawford.
"To THE Honorable Johx Pexn, Esquire."
While at Fort Dunmore (Pitt), in the following
September, the Governor of Virginia issued and
caused to be published the following :
= An adilrcss bj- Dr. Cunuolly to the niiigistratc'S of Westmoreland
• St. Clu
Revo
PENNSYLVANIA AND VIRGINIA TERRITORIAL CONTROVERSY.
By his Excellency John, Earl of Dunmore, Lieutenant and
Governor-General in and over his Majesty's Colony and Do-
ul' Virginia, and Vice-Admiral of the same.
"a pnOCLAMATIOX-.
'icrrite, the rapid settlement made on the west side of the
Allc-hcny Mountnins by his Majesty's subjeo's within the course
of these few years has become an object of real concern to bis
Majesty's interest in this quarter; And whereas the Province
Df l\iinsylvania have unduly laid claim to a very valuable and
■xtriiive quantity of his Majesty's territory, and the execu-
ivr jiiit nl'that government, in consequence thereof, has most
iil.i.K.ii ily and unwarrantably proceeded to abuse the laudable
|idvnnL-c[iicnts in this part of his Majesty's daminions by many
;iveand illegal methods in the discharge of this imaginary
uthoiiiy ; And whereas the ancient claim laid to this country
colony of Virginia, founded in reason, upon pre-occu-
lancy and the general nequiescence of all persons, together with
ho instructions I have lately received' from his Majesty's scr-
ordering mo to lake this country under my administra-
nd as the evident injustice manifestly offered to his
kinjesty by the immediate strides takeu by the proprietors of
'cnnsylvania in prosecution of their wild claim to this eoun-
ry demand an immediate remedy, I do hereby in his Ma-
esty's name requiro and command all his Majesty's subjects
■ the Laurel Hill to pay a due respect to this my proela-
. stiicHy prohibiting the execution of any act of au-
horiiy on behalf of the province of Pennsylvania at their
1 this country ; but, on the contrary, that a due regard and
ntire obedience to the laws of his Majesty's colony of Virginia
inder my administration beobserveil, to the end that regularity
isue, and a just regard to the interest of his Majesty in
his quarter, as well as to the subjects in general, may be the
onscquencc. Given under my h;ind and seal at Fort Dunmore,
ept. 17, 1774.
" Dl-NMOKE.
"By his Excellency's command,
"God save the King."
The publication of tliis proclamation by Dunmore
rought out the following i'rom the Governor of Ponn-
ylvania, viz. :
the Honorable John Penn, Esquire, Governor and Com-
r in Chief of the province of Pennsylvania and counties
f New Castle, Kent, and Susscv, on Delaware.
"a rnOCLAMATIOS.
"Whereas, I have received information that his Excellency,
ic Earl of Dunmore, governor general in and over his
lajcsty's colony of Virginia, hath lately issued a very e.\traor-
inary proclamation, setting forth [here is recited the substance
f Governor Dunmore's proclamation of thcl7th of September] ;
.nd whereas, although the westein limits of the province of
'cnnsylvania have not been settled by any authority from the
rown, yit it has been sufficiently demonstrated by lines accu-
itely run by the most skillful artists that not only a great
if country west of the Laurel Hill, but Fort Pitt also are
omprchended within the charter bounds of this province, a
real part of which country has been actually settled, and is
ow held under grants from the proprietaries of Pennsylvania,
nd the jurisdiction of this government has been peace:ibly ex-
rcisod in that quarter of the country till the late strange claim
;t np by the Earl of Dunmore in behalf of his Majesty's colony
f Virginia, founded, as his Lordship is above pleased to say.
own undoubted property from the encroachment of others. I
have thought fit, with the advice of the council, to issue this,
my proclamation, hereby requiring all persons west of Laurel
Hill to retain their settlements as aforesaid made under this
jirovince, and to pay due obedience to the laws of this govern-
ment; and all magistrates and other officers who hold commis-
sions or ofiiecs under this government to proceed as nsual in
the administration of justice, without paying the least regard
to the said recited proclamation, until his Majesty's pleasure
shall bo known in the premises, at the same time strictly
charging and enjoining the said inhabitants and magistrates to
use their utmost endeavors to preserve peace and good order.
Given under my hand and the great seal of the said province,
at Philadeliihia, the twelfth day of October, in the year of our
Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-four, and in
the fourteenth year of the reign of our sovereign Lord George
the Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and
Ireland, king, defender of the faith, and so forth.
" By his Honor's command.
" Jon
SiiifPicN, Ja
: the King."
When Lord Dunmore had finished his campaign
against the Indians in 1774, he returned to Virginia by
way of Redstone, and made a short stay at Fort Burd
(Brownsville). While he was there (November 24th)
Connolly sent an officer with a summons to Thomas
Scott (who then lived on Dunlap's Creek) to appear
before the Governor to answer for several offenses al-
leged to have been committed while acting under au-
tJiority from Penn.«ylvania. Mr. Scott refused to pay
any attention to the summons, and on the same day
\ a number of armed men appeared at his house and
I forcibly carried him to Fort Burd, where he was re-
quired either to give bail with two sureties to appear
at the next court to be held for the county of Augusta,
at Pittsburgh, December 20th next following, or at
any future day when the court should be held there,
or to be committed to prison. He chose the former
j and entered into a recognizance for his appearance.
The records of the Augusta court,' under date of May
18, 1775, show that Mr. Scott, " being bound over to
this court for his acting and doing business as a jus-
tice under Pennsylvania, in Contempt of the Earl of
Dunmore's late Proclamation," was on hearing ad-
judged guilty, and committed to prison in default of
£500 bail. There is nothing found showing how long
he remained incarcerated, but Judge Veech says "he
was not released until accumulated resentment and
the beginning of the war for liberty had burst his
prison bonds and set many of Connolly's captives
I the I
liiderdateofSi-pt.S0,177.
pre-occupancy.
and tb(
quiescence of all
cfore, to the propr
this onti-y: '* George AVilsun, gout., 1.
being confederate witli. a ,11 _,.rh.- i
persons, who on the in : -
aad carried away Bliij .' ' >
otliel-s to not aid ffTiLi 1- , t ii,>: 1 ^
aforesaid disturbers of the jH'.iee, liei
ordered that he be prosecuted on his
to Cul. George W"iIson, who lived iieai
died in New Jersey, while iu the Co;
fovince of Pennsyl
lis
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
free." lu December following Connolly issued a
proclamation, with the object of preventing the col- |
lection of taxes by Westmoreland County officers, as ,
follows: I
" Whereas I am informed that certain persons, by. \
written instructions directed to different people ^
through this country, under the denomination of '
collectors, are apparently authorized to break open
doors, cupboards, etc., and to commit summary acts
of violence in order to extort money from the inhab-
itants under the appellation of taxes, these are there- i
fore to acquaint all his Majesty's subjects that as there i
can be no authority legally vested in any persons for j
any such acts at this juncture, that such attempts to !
abuse public liberty are unwarrantable, and that all j
]ier.sons have an undoubted natural as well as lawful |
right to repel such violence ; and all his Majesty's
subjects are hereby required to apprehend any person '
whatever who may attempt a seizure of their effects j
in consequence of such imaginary authority, to be
dealt with as the law directs. Given under my hand
at Fort Duumore, this 30th day of December, 1774.
"John Coxxolly.''
A copy of this " proclamation" was laid before the
Sujjreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania by Capt.
Arthur St. Clair on the 2-5th of January, 177-3, and i
in the minutes of the proceedings of the Council on ^
the same day appears the following: "Captain St. i
Clair appearing at the Board, and representing that
William Crawford, Esquire, President of the Court
in Westmoreland County, hath lately joined with the
government of Virginia in opposing the jurisdiction
of Pennsylvania in that county, the board advised the
Governor to supersede him in his office as Justice of
the Peace and Common Pleas. A supersedeas was '
accordingly issued." And Edward Cook was ap-
pointed his successor.
That Crawford bscame a pronounced and aggres-
sive partisan of Virginia immediately after his super-
sedure as presiding justice is shown by the record of i
the Council on February 2.5th next following. At the
meeting of the Council on that day the Governor laid |
before them several letters he had received by express ■
from the magistrates of Westmoreland County, com- j
plaining of violi'iicr cuiiiniitted therein the "break- j
ing 0]>ca of t!ic j lil nl' that county and discharging ,
the iirisoin'i--, and uthcr outrages lately committed
by the militia :ia;l people of Virginia," and inclosing
sundry de[ni;:ti rn supporting these complaints. The I
outrages, as it appeared, had been committed by a [
party under the leadership of Benjamin Harrison (a
re.-^ident of that part of AVestmoreland which became |
Fayette), who acted, as he said, under authority of
Capt. William Crawford, president of the court.
Among the depositions mentioned w.as that of Charles
Foreman, which details the circumstances of the out-
rage, and is as follows :
" Westmoreland County, ss. :
" Personally appeared before us the subscribers,
three of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the!
county afore.said, Charles Foreman, who being duly
sworn upon the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God,
doth depose and say that this morning, between
twilight, being the 7th day of February, he heard a
noise at the jail, and getting out of his bed he saw
a number of armed men breaking the door, and
charging the prisoners then in jail to go about theii
business; and he heard John Carnaghan, Esquire,
high sheriff of the county aforesaid, ask one Benjamin
Harrison, who appeared to be their head man, whether
they had any orders for their so doing, upon which he
read a paper, and said it was Capt. William Craw-
ford's orders so to do ; and the said Charles Foremar
further saith that he saw one Samuel Wilson make s
push at one Kobert Hanna, Esquire, with a gun, anc
told him not to be so saucy, and a great deal of il
tongue ; and further this deponent saith not.
"Chakles Foke.max.
"Sworn and subscrib?d before us this 7th day o
February, 177-').
" EOBERT HaKXA,
" William Lociiky,
" ^^'^LLIAM Brackex.'
The opening of the Picvolutiou soon after the event
last mentioned drove Dunmore from power in Vii
ginia, and this of course overthrew his friend Connollj
who fled from the scene of his exploits and took refug
with the British. Virginia, however, did not reli:
quish her claims in the disputed territory, but, on tb
contrary, erected new counties upon it, establishe
courts, built court-houses, appointed civil and railitS
officers, and kept up a show of jurisdiction for man
years.
The Virginia county of Augusta was erected i
November, 173S, to embrace all the western and nortl
western parts of that colony, including (as was the
supposed by her legislators) an immense territory th:
is now in Pennsylvania west of the meridian of tl
western boundary of Maryland. According to
Virginia claim, then, the jurisdiction of Aug
County for about thirty-eight years after its form,
tion extended over all the present county of Fayetl
except a strip on its eastern side, and over all thete
ritory between the Monongahela and Ohio Riv
In October, 1770, the General Assembly of Virgin
enacted i that a certain part of the territory of A
gusta County, viz. : " Beginning on the Alleghei
Mountain, between the heads of Potowmack, Che
and Greenbrier Rivers ; thence along the ridge
mountains which divides the waters of Cheat Rh
from those of Greenbrier, and that branch of the M
PENNSYLVANIA AND VIRGINIA TERRITORIAL CONTROVERSY.
119
nongahela River called the Tyger's [Tygart's] Valley ,
River to Monongahela River; theuce up the said ,
river and the West Fork thereof to Bingcrman's
Creek, on the northwest side of said fork ; thence up
the said creek to the head thereof; thence in a direct
line to the head of Middle Island Creek; a branch of
the Ohio, and thence to the Ohio, including all the
waters of said creek in the aforesaid district of West
Augusta, all that territory lying to the northward of
said boundary, and to the westward of the States of
Pennsylvania and Maryland, shall be deemed, and is
hereby declared to be, within the district of West
Augusta."
The district so defined was divided into three
counties by the same act, which declared " That all
that part of said district lying within the following
lines, to wit : beginning at the mouth of Cross Creek,
thence up the same to the head thereof, thence
eastwardly to the nearest part of the ridge which
divides the waters of the Ohio from those of the
Monongahela, theuce along the said ridge to the line
jwhich divides the county of Augusta from the said
district, thence with the said boundary to the Ohio,
thence up the same to the beginning, shall be one
district county, and be called and known by the
name of Ohio ; and all that part of the said district
lying to the northward of the following lines, viz. :
beginning at the mouth of Cross Creek, and running
iup its several courses to the head thereof, thence
southeastwardly to the nearest part of the aforesaid
dividing ridge between the waters of the Mononga-
hela and the Ohio, thence along the said ridge to the
head of Ten-Mile Creek, thence east to the road
leading from Catfish Camp to Redstone Old Fort,
thence along the said road to the Monongahela River,
thence, crcssing the said river, to the said fort, thence
along Dunlap's old road to Braddock's road, and with
the same to the meridian ' of the head fountain of the
Potowmack, shall be one other distinct county, and
be called and known by the name of Yohogania
County ; and all that part of the said district lying
to the northward of the county of Augusta, to the
westward of the meridian of the head fountain of the
Potowmack, to the southward of the county of Yoho-
gania, and to the eastward of the county of Ohio,
shall be one other distinct county, and shall be called
and known by the name of the county of Monon-
galia."
From the description of the boundaries of the new
ijcounties, as recited in the act, it will be seen that
JMonongalia County embraced the southern and
isoiitliwestern portion of the present county of Fay-
ette : that the northern and northeastern part was
euvrii-d by Yohogania County, and that the division
linr between these two was marked by Braddock's
r i;i'l iVom the eastern limit as far northwest as the
I i- ll'ick on the .summit of Laurel Hill, and thence
• ' Meaning llie western liovina.-iry of the State of MarjIanJ.
by " Dunlap's path," or road, passing a little south
of Uniontown, to the mouth of Dunlap's Creek.
From there the boundary between Yohogania and
Monongalia continued westward, nearly along the
line of the later National road, about two-thirds the
distance across the present county of Washington, to
the east boundary of Ohio County. This county ex-
tended from the said eastern limits westward to the
Ohio River.
Prior to the erection of the new counties, courts
had been held at Fort Dunmore for the old county of
Augusta, and the records of those courts are still in
existence. The first record is of a court held at the
place named on the 21st of February, 1775, and the
last Nov. 20, 1776. In the mean time a primitive
court-house had been built for Augusta County at
" Augusta Town," a prospective village about two
miles west of the site of the present town of Wash-
ington, Pa.
Upon the formation of the three new counties
courts were immediately established for them. Of
the three Virginia counties, only one — Monongalia —
held its courts within the present limits of Fayette.
Its court-house was located on land of Theophilus
Phillips, near New Geneva. How long the courts
were held there is not known, as no records of them
can now be found. The court-house of Ohio County
was at Black's Cabin, near West Liberty. The rec-
ords of Yohog.ania County have been preserved, and
are now in possession of a gentleman of Washington,
Pa. They show that the first court of that county
was held at Fort Dunmore (Pitt) Dec. 2.3, 1776,"- and
that the courts continued to be held there until Aug.
25, 1777. They were then held at the house of An-
drew Heath for about two months, and after that
(until 1781) at the new court-house "on the planta-
tion of Andrew Heath." This was on the west side
of the Monongahela, a short distance above, and in
'The following-named "gentlemen jnsticcs" \
Ritcliie, James Rogers, Thomas Sm.allman, Andrew Swearingen, Jolin
Stevenson, George Vallandigliam, Edward Ward, .Joshua Wiight, and
Richard Yeates. The following named held comniissicns hiit were not
sworn in: Thomas Brown, James Blackiston, John Carmichael, Benja-
min Harrison, .Iiicob Uaymaker, Isaac Leet, Sr., James McLeiin, Isaac
Moason, John Neville, Pliilip Ross, and Joseph Vance.
And the following-named pcisons were also sworn in as civil and
military officers of tlie connty :
Cleik, Dorsey Tentecost; deputy, Rilph Bowkcr.
Sherifls, Willii
nil
rrisui
Isaac Leet), Georg
McC
ormick
(deputies. Ili.Ll
_, .1
.i.!VnjaminV,anmc
ter, a
d John
Lemon), M.I
, .'
Sutherland).
Conntv I.I
1' -
]■ • ■
Colonel-, .I'll
1. I- 1
. (■..■■.. .1
.],„ Stephenson.
Lieutenant-Co
onel
, Isaac
Cux, Jm>
?lih Beelor, George 'N
allan
igh,am.
Majors, Galirie
Co.x
, Hen
y Taylor
William Harrison.
Attorneys, George
Brent
William
Harrison, Samuel
Irvin
Philip
Pendleton.
Legislators, Jo
m Campbe
1, Willia
ai Harrison, Matthex
Kite
lie.
120
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
sight of, the present town of Elizabeth. Tlie state-
ment has frequent!}' been made that the Yohogania
court was at one time held at Redstone Old Fort, but
this is a mistake, doubtless growing out of the fact
that a board of Virginia commissioners sat at that
place in the winter of 1779-80 for the purpose of de-
ciding on land claims and issuing certificates to set-
tlers.
Finally, when the long controversy between the
two States was settled by the assignment of the dis-
puted territory to Pennsylvania, the counties of Mo-
nongalia and Ohio, though greatly reduced in area,
still retained their names as counties of Virginia (as
tliey are of West Virginia at the present time) ; but
Yohogania, whose limits were wliolly within the
territory yielded to Pennsylvania, ceased to exist,
and was thenceforward mentioned as Virginia's " lost
county."
ESTABLTSIIMEXT OF EOUXDARIES.
In the royal grant to William Penn, in 1681, the
territory embraced in it was described as " all that
tract or part of land in America, with all the islands
therein contained, as the same is bounded on the
east by Delaware River, from twelve miles northward
of New Castletown unto the three and fortieth de-
gree of northern latitude, if the said river doth ex-
tend so far northwards; but if the said river shall not
extend so far northwards, then by the said river so
far as it does extend ; and from the head of said river
the eastern bounds are to be determined by a me-
ridian line to be drawn from the head of said river
unto the said three and fortieth degree; the said lands
to extend westward five degres ia longitude, to be
computed from the said eastern bounds; and the said
land to be bounded north by the beginning of the
three and fortieth degree of northern latitude, and
then by a straight line westward to the limits of lon-
gitude above mentioned." On the south the boun-
dary was to be by the circular line from the river,
twelve miles distant from New Castle, " unto the be-
ginning of the fortieth degree of north latitude," and
then by a due west line to the extent of five degrees
of longitude from the i-iver Delaware.
It was fouiid to be a very difficult task to establish
the southern line of Penn's grant against Maryland,
which latter iiruviiiic had been granted to Cecelius
Calvert, L(. Ill I'.i li i mmi,.. in 1632. A series of bitter
disjiutes and rulli,i,,ii , iii-ued, which during a period
of fifty years brought about no progress towards the
desired settlement. In 1732 the successors of Penn
and Calvert entered into articles of agreement for
fixing the boundary, and under this agreement a
temporary line was run in 1739 as far west as " the
most western of the Kittochtinny Hills" (on the
south line of the present county of Franklin, Pa.),
anil there the matter rested until 1760, when a new
agreement was made, and seven commissioners ap-
pointed for each proprietary to establish the line.
These commissioners chose four surveyors to execute
the work, viz.: John Lukens and Archibald >IeClean
for Pennsylvania, and John F. A. Priggs and John /
Hall for Maryland. They immediately commenced .
operations, but by reason of the great natural diffi-
culties to beJ overcome and the imperfection of their
instruments and appliances, their progress was so
slow that in 1763 the proprietaries residing in Loudon
became impatient, and in August of that year em-
ployed Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, "Lon-
don astronomers and surveyors," to complete the
work.
These surveyors came to America at once and
commenced operations, but it was nearly two years
before they had finished the preliminary work at the
eastern end and fairly started on the due east-and-
west line which has been since known by their
names, Mason and Dixon's line. By the end of that
year they had advanced as far west as the end of the
temporary line of 1739. In the spring of 1766 they
again commenced work, and on the 4th of June had
reached the top of Little Allegheny Mountain, but
dared not proceed farther for fear of the Indians.
After that no progress was made until June, 1767,
when the surveying-party again took up the work,
being then escorted by a party of warriors of the Six
Nations to hold the threatening Shawanese and Del-
awares in check. The point where Braddock's road
crosses from Maryland into Somerset County, Pa.,
was reached on the 24th of August, and there the Iro-
quois escort left them; but they pushed on, crossing the
Youghiogheny and Monongahela Rivers, and in Oc-
tober came to the Indian trail known as the Warrior
Branch, near the second crossing of Dunkard Creek.
The Delawares and Shawanese had been growing
more and more threatening since the departure of
the Six Nations warriors, and they now positively
forbade any advance by the surveyors west of the
crossing of the trail. The party could not proceed in
defiance of this prohibition, and consequently thej
line stopped at this point, beyond which it was not
extended until about fifteen years later.
The running of Mason and Dixon's line was the;
final establishment of the boundary between Penn-
sylvania and Maryland, but it established noth-
ing with regard to the line between the formW'
State and Virginia. The latitude of Mason andi
Dixon's line is 39' 43' 26" north, and neither con'
testant was willing to accept it as the correct boun->
dary. The proprietaries of Pennsylvania claimed'
under the royal grant a territory three degrees of \s.tii->
tude in width, — that is, from "the beginning of the
fortieth degree of north latitude" to " the beginnin
of the three and fortieth degree of north latitudBi''.
They cont,ended that the beginning of the first degree,
of north latitude is the equator, and the beginning of,
the second degree is at the end of the first degree, or
latitude 1° north, therefore that the " beginning of the!
fortieth degree is at the ending of the thirty-ninth
ESTABLISHMENT OF BOUNDAEIES.
121
.1. -ive, or latitude 39" north. They therefore claimed
:i^ ilii ii- boundary against Virginia the parallel of 39'
iiniih. which would have given to Pennsylvania a
>tii[i 4.5' 26" in width south of Mason and Dixon's
liiir, in that part west of the western boundary of
Mai viand. But, on the contrary, "Virginia claimed
a^i\ill hereafter be more fully mentioned) that the
I M'lary between the two States should be the par-
alK'l lit" 40" north latitude. This would have given
to N'irginia a strip 16' 34" wide north of the present
Siaii lioundary, along the southern borders of Greene
aii'l I-'ayette Counties, as far east as the west line of
Marvland.
iiiit it was the establishment of the west line of
Pciia^ylvania that was regarded by eacli p.irty as of
till- liicatest importance, for each was anxious to se-
cure Pittsburgh and the Monongahela country. On
thr I'Nt of April, 1774, the Pennsylvania Council
i]i|i'inited James Tilghman and Andrew Allen com-
nii^-iniiers to confer with the Governor of Virginia
Willi a view to promote a settlement of the boun-
lai\. Tlie Governor asked them to submit a propo-
;-iliiiii in writing, which they did, viz., that sur-
Ivoyiii's be appointed by the two States, and that
|they proceed to survey the courses of the Delaware
ifroMi the intersection of Mason and Dixon's line
northward " to tliat part of the river that lies in the
latitude of Fort Pitt, and as much farther as may be
[leedful for the present purpose;" then that Mason
iml liixon's line be extended to five degrees of longi-
uilr iVoin the Delaware, and that from the termiiia-
inii ..1' the said five degrees a line or lines corre-
■l> iiiliiig to the courses of the Delaware be run to the
Hiin, 'as nearly as may be at the distance of five de-
,;ri.'i'^ from said river in every part," and that the lines
run be the boundary and line of jurisdiction until
he boundary could be run by royal authority. Dun-
nore objected to so inconvenient a line for the west
east) boundary, and he recommended a meridian line
be run from Mason and Dixon's at the distance of
ivc dco;rees of longitude, but he said that unless the
>iiiiiiissioners would agree to a plan as favorable to
i'iivi Ilia as to Pennsylvania there could be nothing
igreed on prior to the king's decision. The commis-
iioners replied that for the purpose of producing har-
nony and peace " we shall be willing to recede from
)ur charter bounds so far as to make the river Monon-
ahela from the line of Mason and Dixon the western
)oundary of jurisdiction, which would at once settle
3ur present dispute without the great trouble and ex-
pense of running lines, or the inconvenience of keep-
ng the jurisdiction in suspense." But Dunmore made
inal reply that under no circumstances would he con-
ent to yield Fort Pitt ; and this the commissioners
egarded as a close of the negotiations.
The plan submitted by the commissioners at the
ibove-mentioned conference was based on a proposi-
ion contained in a letter previously written by Gov-
■rnor Penn to Dunmore, viz. : that from the north-
western extremity of Maryland the boundary of
Pennsylvania should run due south to the 39th par-
allel (this being " the beginning of the 40th degree of
j northern latitude"), and from there run due west
I along that parallel to the end of five degrees of lon-
gitude from the Delaware, and that from that point
! the western boundary should be run north in a ser-
pentine course, corresponding with the meanders of
the Delaware, and so as to be five degrees of longi-
tude distant from tliat river at every point.
Dunmore, in reply, ridiculed the idea of the ser-
pentine line, but proposed that the west lino of
Pennsylvania should be run due south from the
t}oi-th boundary of Penn's grant, at a point five
degrees of longitude west from the Delaware on that
parallel, and he gave a rather plausible reason for
the proposition, viz. : " Because the grant directs that
the survey shall begin at a point on the south part of
the boundary and proceed northward; . . . it being
usual always in like cases to proceed and extend the
five degrees of longitude, and not to return to the
south point, and draw it from thence." He thought
this would be much more favorable for Virginia, for
he said, "If my construction be the true one, then
Fort Pitt (by reason of the Delaware River running
very much eastwardly towards your northern bounds)
will probably be at least fifty miles without your
limits." His idea (which was not very clearly ex-
pressed) was that the Delaware River is many miles
farther east at the forty-third than at the fortieth de-
gree of latitude, and that a corresponding gain to
Virginia would be made by extending the five de-
grees of longitude from the former latitude instead
of from the latter.
The propositions above mentioned were about the
last of the negotiations between Penn and Dunmore,
for both were soon after driven from power by the
Revolution. The next proposition for a settlement
of the boundary is Ibund in certain resolutions passed
by the Virginia Legislature on the 18th of December,
1776, one of which authorized the Virginia delegates
in the Continental Congress to propose the following
I plan :
j "That the meridian line drawn from the head of
I the Potomac to the northwest angle of Maryland be
extended due north until it intersects the latitude of
I forty degrees, and from thence the southern boundary
shall be extended on the said fortieth degree of lati-
tude until the di.stance of five degrees of longitude
from the Delaware shall be accomplished thereon,
and from the said point five degrees, either in every
point, according to the meanderings of the Delaware,
or (which is perhaps easier and better for both) from
proper points or angles on the Delaware, with inter-
mediate straight lines." This was identical with the
plan before mentioned, by which Pennsylvania would
lose a strip of considerable width north of Mason and
Dixon's line, along the southern borders of the pres-
ent counties of Greene and Fayette, and it embraced
122
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
also nearly the same proposition as that which had
been made by Governor Penu for a serpentine line,
corresponding to the courses of the Delaware, as a
Avestern boundary.
The first practical official action towards a definite
and final settlement was taken in 1779 by the appoint-
ment of George Bryan, John Ewing, and David Rit-
tenhouse, on the part of Pennsylvania, and Dr, James
Madison and Robert Andrews, on the part of Virginia,
.IS commissioners to meet in conference and determine
the boundary. These commissioners met Aug. 31,
1779, at Baltimore, Md., where they made and sub-
scribed to the following agreement :
" We, [naming the commissioners] do hereby mu-
tually, in behalf of our respective States, ratify and
confirm the following agreement, viz. : To extend
Mason and Dixon's line due west five degrees of
longitude, to be computed from the river Delaware,
for the southern boundary of Pennsylvania, and that
a meridian drawn from the western extremity thereof
to the northern limit of said State be the western
boundary of said State forever."
This agreement of the commissioners was confirmed
(upon certain conditions as to land titles) by the Vir-
ginia Legislature June 28, 1780, and by the General
Assembly of Pennsylvania on the 23d of September
in the same year. This ended the long controversy
so far as agreement on the location of the boundary
was concerned, but the work of running the line
still remained, and this was found to be a. task much
more difficult and troublesome than had been ex-
pected.
In running their line Jlason and Dixon had com-
puted a degree of longitude on that parallel to be 53
miles 167yV perche-s, and consequently that the line,
from where it was left at the Warrior Branch trail,
would have to be extended about twenty-three miles
westward to complete the five degrees of longitude
from the Delaware. But as some doubts had arisen
as to the accuracy of this computation, it was deter-
mined to establish the western limit by astronomical
observations, and, as considerable preparation was
necessary for the execution of the work by this
method, it was thought necessary in the mean time to
run a temporary line, and in the spring of 1781 the
PresidentandCouncilnf Pennsylvania, under author-
itv from the Assciiilily, api"iintcd Alexander Mc-
Clean (the renowned >\irveyor, wlio lived in Fayette
County for many years) to meet one to be appointed
by Virginia and execute the work. Reference to this
matter is found in a letter dated July 23, 1781, ad-
dressed by President Reed to Col. James Marshal,
lieutenant of Washington County, from which the
following is an extract :
"... It was much our Wish and equally our In-
tention to run the Line this Spring, but the State of
Virginia being invaded and the Affairs of the Govern-
ment in great Confusion there has not been the time
or Opp'y for that Purpose which was necessary. Be-
sides that, upon Inquiry we found the Season was too far
advanced for those astronomical Observations which
were necessary to run the Line with Exactness. We
have therefore postponed the grand Operation
next Spring. But, as we know it was highly necessary
to have a Partition of Territory and Jurisdiction, we
proposed to Virginia to run a temporary Line, begin-
ning at the End of Masons & Dixons, and measuring
23 miles, what is by Computation the five Degrees of i
Longitude called for in the Charter of King Charles
the 2d. This has been agreed to, & the State of Vir-
ginia has sent Orders to the Surveyor of Yeoghegany
County to join with one to be appointed by us to
that Service. We have appointed Alexander Mc-
Clean, Esq., & this Express carries up his Commis-
sion and Instructions for this Purpose. Should he
have Occasion for a Guard, or any other Assistance
from you, we make no Doubt he will receive it. As
soon as they have run the Line & reported their Pro-
ceedings we shall send up Proclamations calling upon
all those who shall fall into this State to conform to
its Laws and Government, and hope you will soon
be relieved from- the Anarchy and Confusion which
has reigned so long in your Country from this un-
happy Dispute."
On the 27th of August President Reed addressed
Thomas Scott on the same subject, as follows :
! "... AVe regret as much as any of the inhabitants
of the County can do the Delay of running the Line,
but the season was too far advanced before we got the
Answer from Virginia to admit of the astronomical
j Observations which are necessary for an exact & ac-
curate Performance of this important Post. The
Month of May is agreed by our Men of Science to be
the only proper Period, and there are divers Instru-
ments necessary which it will take some Time to pre-,
pare. However, being sensible of the Importance &
I Necessity of some Boundary, as soon as we found it
I impracticable to execute the Business this Spring '
proposed to the State of Virginia a temporary Line,.
extending Mason & Dixon's to the Ohio, or 23 miles.
They accepted the latter, & about a Month ago we
sent off a Commission to Alex' McClean, Esq', ap-
' pointing him our Agent for this Purpose. We hope
: that by this Time he has engaged in the Service, as we
learn from Col. Marshal that the Gov. of Virginia.
! had appointed their Agent. I have been thus par-'
ticular as well to obviate any Mistakes on thia
Subject as to show j'ou how anxious we have been
run the Line, and that the Delays have been unavoid-
able."
In a letter dated Sept. 13, 1781, addressed to Presir,
dent Reed by Alexander McClean, he mentions that
Mr. Madison (the commissioner appointed by Vir-
ginia to act with him in running the temporary Hue)
ESTABLISHMENT OF BOUNDARIES.
123
ad only arrived on the last of August from the Ka-
awha, and proceeds :
"I have since conferred with him, and he appears
utwardly willingly to Co-operate with me iu the
lerformanceof the trust; yet appears warmly attached
the other State. Inasmuch as I am yet doubtful
hetherthe matter will be ended this Season. How-
ver it may be, I am determined this day to wrisk it,
is being the day appointed for Reudezvouz. We
lave been much distressed in our preparations by
leason of sudden Excursions of the Enemy ; Wash-
gton County being more immediately invested with
le external as well as Internal Enemies of this State.
our Excellency's Instructions Requiring the Lieuts.
f that County to furnish the Guard prevented me
■oni making application elsewhere, which has oc-
asioned at least a disappointment of ten. days, as I
ave attended the appointments already twice, & the
ruard or Madison not in Readiness."
So many delays occurred (intentional as was be-
eved on the part of Virginia) that nothing was ac-
DHiplishcd in 1781 towards running the temporary
ne. On the 2d of March, 1782, Council received
nd adopted the following report from a committee
ppointed to consider the question of running the
ne, viz. :
" That Council and your Committee are unanimous
1 Opinion, from the great expences necessarily at-
snding the compleating the Line between this State
nd Virginia, it would be most prudent to defer it for
ae present, and that a temporary Line during the
ontinuance of the present War, or till times are
lore settled on the Erontiers, may be made and agreed
I at a small expence, which will answer every pur-
se expected, and to effect which Council will take
e necessary measures."
The work was ordered to proceed, and the first part
f June set for the commencement. At the time named
ol. McClean repaired to the rendezvous, but neither
ommissioner Madison nor the Virginia surveyor,
oseph Neville, appeared, and an armed party of
'irginians who had collected there prevented him
|om proceeding with the work. The circumstances
nttending this occurrence, with some other matters
I ertaining to the boundary, are set forth in the follow-
ig letter ' from McClean to President Moore, of the
I'ouncil, viz. :
I -CoLL" Cook's, on mv way rnoji PiTiscrnoir, 2Tlli June, 1782.
! "Sir, — To my great Mortification, I am lead to in-
'ini vdu that after every effort which prudence
liiilii ilictate, I am again prevented from iJunning
ir Line. The Circumstances I presume you will be
'ixiuiis to know, — they are as follows. Viz.: Shortly
lUi my Return from Philadelphia, an expedition
a^ lormed against Sandusky by the Volunteers of
nth ( 'iiunties, which drew off a great Number of the
lilitia and Arms. The Situation of Washington
County was very distressing to appearance. I thought
it not prudent to call any part of the Guard irona
thence altho' Impowered so to do. The Lieut, of the
County of Westmoreland furnished me with a guard
of one hundred and upward, but had not Arms sufl!i-
cient to supply them; about Sevent}' were armed.
We proceeded to the Mouth of Dunkard Creek, where
our Stores were laid in, on the tenth day of June, and
were prejiaring to Cross the River that Night, when a
party of about thirty horsemen, Armed, appeared on
the opposite side of the River, Damning us to come
over, and threatening us to a great Degree; and sev-
eral more were seen by our Bullock Guard, which we
had sent over the river, one of which asked them if
they would Surrender to be taken as prisoners, with
other Language of menacing; and hearing of a great
Number more who were on their way to their assist-
ance. We held a Council, the Result of which was to
appoint a Committee to confer with them on the
Causes of their opposition ; the result of said Confer-
ence you will see enclosed. This Mob or Banditti of
Villains are greatly increased since the supply Bill
has been published amongst them. ... In short the
Cry against Taxes in Specie is general, and in any
IMode, by a Number of those who formerly adhered to
Virginia, and they think the Running of the Line
will be a prelude to and increase the power of Col-
lecting them ; Together with the Idea of a New State,
which is artfully and industriously conveyed (under
Coverture) by some of the Friends of that State, as
the only expedient to preveiit the Running of the
Line. I have also to inform you that I have the most
finished assurance that they have not the least Desire
to Settle the Line in any equitable manner, for the
Instructions of their Commissioners (if they have ap-
pointed any) will doubtless direct them to begin at
the end of Maryland, which is not yet ascertained,
neither can it be without the concurrence of that
State, which I am fully persuaded was thrown in as a
barrier to keep the Evil day the further off, as I fell
into Company with a person of great Consequence in
that State on my Way from Philadelphia, who was
big with the propriety of it, and Quoted a Gentleman
of this Country as the Author of it. Yet it would be
out of Character to say that the Executive of Vir-
ginia, who are so tender of Duplicity on any occa-
sion, should Wrap their Councils in Darkened Lan-
guage. I think it would be much to tluir honour
and the Interest of this State, as well as those I'nited,
if their Actions could be brought to Correspond with
their Declarations.
"Coil" Hayes, who was present on Committee, was
Zealous to proceed against all opposition, but all to
no purpose, other than to enrage the Mob Still more ;
they proceeded to dare us to trial of their Resolution
and intention. I have just now been with General
Irwin, who is well disposed to render every Service in
his power, but as a Continental Officer he cannot in-
terfere without instructions for that purpose. In
124
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
short, every measure has been taken that might be
thought prudent, but to no purpose ; their obstinacy
is such that they never will Submit until destruction
overtakes them. ;
" I have therefore to request you will devise some
mode that it may be accomplished speedily, as the
Enemies of this State are daily encreasing, and I find
it is out of my power, unless a Commissioner from
Virginia should appear, to proceed without open War,
which, if you are determined upon, 3'ou'll please to
give me instructions agreeably, together with the Ne-
cessary Powers. I am just now informed that a meet-
ing of some of the former Subjects of Virginia has
been lately Requested to choose Officers to Resume 1
the Government in this place, the Result of which I
ain not able to inform you."
With the above letter was transmitted to President
Moore the following minutes ' of a conference between
the boundary commissioners of Pennsylvania and a j
committee appointed for the purpose by the partisans
of Virginia, viz. :
' At !V meeting of the Con
iaEi.'h(v-Two
the Part of Pen
Esq^i
"P.e5cnt Alexander JIoCIc;
& Samuel McClean As.-i>' Surveyor J for Running the Line.
"With the Several Drafts of the iMilitia of the S* & 4* Bat-
talions of Westmoreland County, under the Command of Cul.
Benjamin Davis, &c.
" When a number of the Inhabitants of Wa-hington County,
holding themselves yet under the Jurisdiction of the State of
A^irginia, appeared in Opposition to us, under Arms. And as
the meeting of Parties in sueh cases Inraged with Passion are
frequently attended [with ?] Evil Consequences, it was thought
Proper to ap[ioint a Committee to Confer on the Causes or
Reasons of saiil Opposition; on which Henry Vanmeter, Jesse
Pigman, and George Xcwland, of tlie Opposite Partie, were ap-
pointed a Committee to Confer with us ; and Christopher Hayes,
lUnry Benson, and Alexander JlcClcan a Committee on behalf
of Pennsyhiinia : After Producing the Several Papers and In-
structions, Together with Corresponding Letters of the Council
of A'irginia, The said Couimittce on the Part of Virginia Re-
fuse t.) Coiirui with the Committee of Pennsylvania in the
Jleasuie. untill linaily Determined or Proclaimed to he agree-
able to the State of Virginia, other than through furceable or
Dangerous Measures, Which might be attended with Conse-
quences truly Evil.
" In Witness that it is
represent. We, as a Com)
the Day and year aforcsa
full Intention of the
e, do Sign our Names
'He
' Geoue Xewla
: Cop,
E. Cook.''
In the mean time, however, the Legislature of Vir-
ginia had given its formal assent to the runtiing of
the line, and thereupon President Moore sent to Col.
McClean his instructions to proceed, viz. :
"In Council, Philadelphia, July 20, 1782.
" Enclosed you have a copy of a resolution of the Legisla-
ture of Virginia respecting the line between that State and
ours, dated June 1, and copy of Governor Harrison's letter ac-
companying it, d.ated June 29, and also the order of f .in-il
of the lOih inst., directing you to attend at the west . ud uf
Mason and Dixon's line on Monday, the 4th of Xovcmlier m-xt.
You arc then, in eonjunoiion with the Surveyor to be appointed
on the part of Virginia, to proceed in running the line agreea-
ble to your former direction. It will be advisable to call out
the militia for guards from among those who live at some dis-
tance from the line, and we hope Virginia will take the same
precautions, to prevent heats and needless controversy. . . .
Colonel Hayes will continue his assistance under the former
instructions."
Under this arrangement and these instructions,
Col. McClean, with Joseph Neville on the part of
Virginia, ran the temporary line in the fall of 17S2.
The boundary thus run was an extension of Mason
and Dixon's line from the point where it was left in
1767 twenty-three miles, and from that point (which
was afterwards proved to be about one and a half
miles too far west) due north to the Ohio River. Oa
the 23d of February, 1783, McClean reported the
completion of the work to the Council of Pennsyl-
vania.
The permanent boundary line was run and estab-
lished from the Maryland line westward to the south-
west corner of the State of Pennsylvania in 1784,
under the direction of James Madison, Robert An-
drews, John Page, Andrew EUicott, John Ewing;
David Rittenhouse, Thomas Hutchins, and John
Lukens ; the first four of whom were appointed by
Virginia, and the others by Pennsylvania, commis-
sioners "to determine by astronomical observations
the extent of five degrees of longitude west from the
river Delaware, in the latitude of Mason and Dixon's
line, and to run and mark the boundaries which are
common to both States, according to an agreement
entered into by commissioners from the said two
States at Baltimore in 1779, and afterwards ratified
by their respeeti ve Assemblies." About the beginning
of June Commissioners Ewing and Hutchins set-out
for the southwest corner of the State, as marked by
the temporary line of 1782, where they met Madisoa
and EUicott. Rittenhouse and Lukens proceeded to
Wilmington, Del., where they were afterwards joined
by Page and Andrews. At each of these points aa
observatory was erected, where the respective parties,
by many weeks of careful astronomical observations,
carefully adjusted their chronometers to the true time.
" Th(? astronomical observations being completed,
on the 20th of September the Eastern Astronomers
set out to meet the other commissioners in the west
in order to compare them together. Messrs. Ritten.
house and Andrews carried_,with them the observa-
tions made at Wilmington, while Messrs. Lukens and
Page returned home, not being able to endure the
fatigues of so long a journey, nor the subsequent
labor of running and marking the Boundary line.
SLAVERY AND SERVITUDE.
125
Mr. Madison continued with the Western Astrono- j
mors till the arrival of Messrs. Rittenhouse and An-
drews, when the affairs of his family and publick
station obliged him to relinquish the business at this
stage and return home, after concurring with the '
other commissioners a^ to the principles on which the
matter was finally determined." '
The difference in time between points five degrees
of longitude distant from each other is twenty min-
utes, but on comparing chronometers it was found
that the two observatories were twenty minutes one
and one-eighth seconds apart. The observatory at
Wilmington was also 114 chains 13 links west of the
intersection of Mason and Dixon's line with the Del-
aware River. This showed that the western observa-
tory was 13-1 chains 9 links west of the end of the five
degrees of longitude. That distance was thereupon
measured back eastward on the line, the line cor-
rected, and the permanent southwest corner of the
State mai'ked by a substantial post. In the joint
report of the commissioners, dated Nov. 18, 1784,
they say, " The underwritten commissioners have
continued Mason and Dixon's line to the termination
of the said five degrees of longitude, by which work
the southern boundary of Pennsylvania is completed.
The continuation we have marked by opening vistas
over the most remarkable heights which lie in its
course, and by planting on many of these heights, in
the parallel of latitude, the true boundary, posts
marked with the letters P and V, each letter facing
the State of which it is the initial. At the extremity
of this line, which is the southwest corner of Penn-
sylvania, we have planted a squared, unlettered white-
oak post, around whose base we have raised a pile of
stones. The corner is in the last vista we cut, on the
cast side of an hill, one hundred and thirty-four
chains and nine links east of the meridian of tlie
Western Observatory, and two chains and fifty-four
links west of a deep narrow valley through which the
said last vista is cut. . . . The advanced season of
the year and the inclemency of the weather have
obliged us to suspend our operations, but we have
agreed to meet again at the southwest corner of Penn-
sylvania on the 16tli day of next May to complete
the object of our commission." In accordance with
this agreement they met in the following year, ran
and established the west line of Pennsylvania due
north from the southwest corner of the Ohio River,
and made a report of the same on the 2.3d of August.
In 178G, Col. Alexander McClean and Col. Porter ran
and completed the State lino northward from the
Ohio River to the lake.
• SLAVERY AND SERVITUDE.
Of the people who emigrated from the east to
settle west of the Laurel Hill prior to 1780, a large
proportion were from Virginia and Maryland, and
1 Report of tlio Pcnnsjiva:iiii Coniuiissioners.
many of them who had held slaves east of the moun-
tains brought those slaves with them to their new
homes in the West, for at that time the laws of Penn-
sylvania recognized and tolerated the " peculiar insti-
tution" as fully as did those of Virginia. Among
these were the Crawfords, Stevensons, Harrisons, Mc-
Cormicks, Vance, Wilson, and others. A most dis-
tinguished (though non-resident) holder of bondmen
in Fayette County was George Washington, whose
improvements on his large tract of land in the present
township of Perry were made principally by their
labor. Frequent allusions to these " servants" are
found in letters addressed to Col. Washington in 1774
and 1775 by Valentine Crawford, who resided on
Jacob's Creek, and acted as general agent in charge
of Washington's lands and afiairs of improvement in
this region. A few extracts from those letters are
given below, viz. :
"Jacob's Creek, 3Iay 7, 1774.
"... Your servants are all in very good health,
and if you should incline selling them, I believe I
could sell them for cash out here to different people.
My brother, William Crawford, wants two of them,
and I would take two myself . . ."
"Gist's, Jliij 13, 1774.
" I write to let you know that all your servants are
well, and that none have run away.- . . ."
"Jacob's Ckeek, June S, 1774.
"... I will go to Simpson's [Washington's estate
in the present township of Perry] to-morrow morning
and consult him farther on the affair, and do every-
thing in my power for your interest. The thoughts
of selling your servants alarmed them very much, for
they do not want to be sold. The whole of them
have had some short spells of sickness, and some of
them cut themselves with an axe, causing them to lay
by for some time. One of the best of Stephens'
[Washington's millwright] men cut himself with
an adze the worst I ever saw anybody cut in my
life. He has not been able to do one stroke for
near a month. This happened in digging out the
canoes. ..."
"Jacob's CiiEEK, July 2", 1774,
" Dear Colonel, — On Sunday evening or Monday
morning, William Orr, one of the most orderly men
I thought I had, ran away, and has taken a horse and
other things. I have sent vou an advertisement' of
of the proposition to sell them.
3 Following is a copy of the advertisenien
" Run awiiy f
I art's Crossing, ii
I tho24thin5tanl
g on Jacob's Creek, near Stcw-
P'-nnsylvanra,on Sunday night,
named William Oit, the prop-
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
liim. I am convinced he will make for some ship in
Potomac River. I have sent two men after him, and
furnished them with horses and money. I have also
written to my brother, Richard Stevenson [a half-
brother of Crawford's], in Berkeley, and James Mc-
Corraick to escort the men I sent, and to forward this
letter and advertisement to you. ... I have sold all
the men but two, and I believe I should have sold
them but the man who is run away had a very sore
foot, which was cut with an axe and was not
long well, and John Smith was not well of the old
disorder he had when he left your house. I sold
Peter Miller and John Wood to one Mr. Edward
Cook for £45, the money to be applied to the use
of building your mill. I sold Thomas McPherson
and his wife and James Lowe to Maj. John McCul-
loch and Jones Ennis for £65, payable in six months
from the date of sale. To my brother I sold William
Luke, Thomas White, and the boy, John Knight. He
is either to pay you for them or he loses them in case
you can prosecute your designs down the river [the
opening of a plantation on the Virginia side of the
Ohio, between Wheeling and the Little Kanawha].
I took John Smith nml William Orr on the .same
terms; so that, in jii^tii r. 1 am accountable to you
for the man if 111- is iirvir L''jt. I should have sold
the whole of llii' sii\ ants, agreeable to your letter,
if I could have iro! casli nr L-'ood pay, but the confu-
sion of the times put it out nf my power. ... I only
went down to Fort Pitt a day or two, and two of my
own servants and two militiamen ran away. I fol-
lowed them and caught them all down at Bedford,
and brought them back. While I was gone two of
your men, John Wood and Peter Miller, stole a quan-
tity of bacon and bread, and were to have started
that very iiinlit I gut liome, but a man of mine dis-
covered tlieir ilesigii. I xild them immediately, and
Avould have suld tlio whole if I could, or delivered
them to Mr. Simpson, but he would not be concerned
with them at any rate."
plexi.
liim .1
yfai-s of age. He was born in
■ mncli. He is of a red cuni-
iilKly-colored liair, and very re-
■ • 1 7I" Im 1 . h .,h>l took Willi
ids higtl, liranded
liefurc. He liad
he will make to
11. 1 s.M Viuit .ind oLCufio liim, so tliat he and horse may I
I receive the above reward, or three pounds for the man
able charges if brought home paid by me.
lna.sti-r3 of vessels
r CoL. C.F.onoE '
j "I am very sorry to inform you I received a letter
from Mr. Cleveland of the 7th June, wherein he
seems to be in a good deal of distress. Five of the
[ servants have run away and plagued him much.
' They got to the Indian towns, but by the exertions of
I one Mr. Duncan, a trader, he has got them again.
j He has sent three of them up by a man he had hired
i with a letter to my brother William or myself to sell
them for you, but the man sold them himself some-
I where about Wheeling on his way up, and never
: brought them to us. He got £20 Pennsylvania cur-
rency for them, and gave one year's credit. This was
very low, and he did not receive one .shilling. Tiiis
was contrary to Cleveland's orders, as the latter wanted
to raise some cash by the sale to purchase provisii.ns.''
It is noticeable that Crawford, in the corresponileiiee
above quoted, never uses the word " slave," but always
" servant." Among the people employed on Wash-
I ington's improvements in Fayette County there were
I a few African slaves (some of whom lived until within
t the memory of people now living), but they \m re
1 principally white bondmen, such as, until the niiin-
j iug of the Revolution, were continually sent t i
America from Gre.at Britain for crime or other eau-es
and sold into servitude on their arrival by the mas-
ters of the vessels which brought them over. Tlie
following advertisement of such a sale is from the
Virginia Gazette of March 3, 17G8:
"Just arrived. The Xeptune, Capt. Arbuckle, with one hun-
dred and ten hcaltliy servants, men, women, and boys: ain.mj
whom are many valuable tradesmen, viz.: tailors, weavers,
barbei-s, blacksmiths, carpenters and joiners, shoenialMi-, a
stay-maker, cooper, cabinet-maker, bakc:s, silversmith.^, ;i ,;..M
and silver refiner, and many otliers. The sale will en:iinnn.;o
at Leedstown, on the Eappahnnnoe. on Wednesday, the '.'th of
this (March). A reasonable credit will be allowed on giving
approved security to
"Thomas Hunin:."
On the 1st of March, 17.S0, the General Assembly
of Pennsylvania passed " An Act for the gradual
Abolition of Slavery," which provided and declared
" That all persons, as well Negroes and Muhittoes as
others, who shall be born within this State from and
after the passing of this act shall not be deemed and
considered as servants for life or slaves ; and that all
servitude for life or slavery of children in conse-
quence of the slavery of their mothers, in the case of-
all children born within this state from and after the
passing of this act as aforesaid, shall be and hereby
is utterly tiiken away, extinguished, and forever
abolished. Provided always, and be it further enacted,
That every Negro and Mulatto child born within this
State after the passing of this act as aforesaid (who
would in case this act had not been made have been
born a servant for years, or life, or a slave) shall be
deemed to be, and shall be by virtue of this act, the
servant of such person, or his or her assigns, who
would in such ease have been entitled to the service
LW-
SLAVERY AND SERVITUDE.
12T
of .such child, until such child shall attain unto the
age Qf twenty-eight years, in the manner and on the
conditions whereon servants bound by indenture for
four years are or may be retained and holden. . . ."
The law required that, in order to distinguish slaves
from all other persons, each and every owner of slaves
at the passage of the act should, on or before the 1st
of November, 1780, register in the office of the court
of the county his or her name and surname and oc-
cupation or profession, with the name, age, and sex
of his or her slaves or " servants for life or till the age
of thirty-one years;" and it further enacted, "That
no man or woman of any nation or colour, except the
Negroes or Mulattoes who shall be registered as afore-
said, shall at any time hereafter be deemed adjudged
or holden within the territories of this commonwealth
as slaves or servants for life, but as free men and free
women," except in the cases of slaves attending on
delegates in Congress from other States, foreign min-
isters and consuls, or nonresident travelers in or
through this State, and also in the cases of slaves em-
ployed as seamen on vessels owned by persons not
residents in this State. In October, 1781, was passed
" An Act to give relief to certain persons talcing refuge
in this State with respect to their slaves," which pro-
vided that such refugees might hold their slaves not-
withstanding the act of March 1, 1780, but the opera-
tion of the law of 1781 was to cease at the end of six
months after the termination of the war of the Revo-
lution.
On the 13th of April, 1782, the General Assembly
passed " An Act to redress certain Grievances within
the counties of Westmoreland and Washington."
This act was designed for the relief of certain per-
sons living within the so-called counties of Yoho-
gania, Monongalia, and Ohio, who had taken the
oath of allegiance to Virginia, and had, at the time
of the passage of the act for the gradual abolition of
slavery in this State, and for a considerable time
thereafter, supposed that their places of residence
were outside the limits of the State of Pennsylvania,
and had on that account neglected or been prevented
from registering their slaves within the time required
by the provisions of the act. All such persons, in-
habitants of the counties of Westmoreland and Wash-
ington, who could produce proof of their having
taken the oath of allegiance to Virginia before the
establishment of the boundary line between the two
States was agreed to, and whose names should be
found in the records of the above-mentioned Virginia
counties, were, by the act of 1782, " declared to be to
all intents and purposes free citizens of this State;"
and it was further enacted, —
" That it shall and may be lawful for all such in-
habitants of the said counties who were on the 23d day
of September, 1780, possessed of negro or mulatto
slaves or servants until the age of thirty-one years to
register such slaves or servants, agreeable to the di-
rections of the act aforesaid for the gradual abolition
of slavery, on or before the 1st day of January next,
and the said master or masters, owner or owners of
such slaves or servants shall be entitled to liis or their
service as by the said act is directed, and the said
slaves and servants shall be entitled to all benefits
and immunities in the said act contained and ex-
pressed." And the clerks of the Orphans' Courts,
registers of the probate of wills, and recorders of
deeds for Westmoreland and Washington Counties
were empowered to call on the late clerks of the Vir-
ginia counties of Yohogania, Monongalia, and Oh in
for the papers and records in their custody relating to
the taking of oaths of allegiance, probates of wills,
granting of letters of administration, and recording
of deeds ; and the said' ex-clerks of the Virginia
counties were required to deliver up such records and
documents entire and tmdefaced, under penalty of a
fine of five hundred pounds for refusal or neglect to
do so, and such records and documents were then tn
become a part of the records of Westmoreland and
Washington Counties.
The passage of the law for the gradual abolition
of slavery in Pennsylvania was very oftensive to most
of those who had come into this region with their
servants from the other side of Mason and Dixon's
line. It has been said (but with how much of truth
is not known) that Gen. Washington was greatly dis-
pleased by the enactment, and the story even goes so
far as to assert that he regarded it as a personal af-
front, and that this was the cause of his disposing of
his real and personal property in Fayette County.
I However this may have been, it is certain that a
j large proportion of the Virginians and Marylanders
who had settled wdth their slaves west of the Laurel
Hill became so incensed at the adoption of this meas-
: ure, and the establishment at about the same time of
j the boundary line, by which, to their surprise, they
found themselves in Pennsylvania and not within the
I bounds of Virginia, as they had supposed, that they
! sold out their possessions in the Monongahela country
i and removed with their slaves to the Southwest. This
was one of the principal causes for the commencement
j of the very extensive emigration from this section of
country to Kentucky,' which set in about 1780, and
.. 1 Judge Veet'll -:l^ -, ■ -i-'Mi^i.^ I i,,- hhH.-. , ■■ !'l,,. |,,-- , j, ,,f i! ,- Inv
and its becomin- .1 Mi .- ^m,
to be] Peuus>lv:ii.i,i !■ ^ ' ] . • ; 1 ' . ,1. •• ;i \ ' ..I . ,1 I ]i
to that gbti'ious Stiito many of lier best pioneer mmiIi -, ;iiii n^ \\lion
were her Popes, her Uowana, her Bletcalfes, her lltrin,-, ( .hri^
The flight to Kentuclij- stcTrted/rora We moiitt 0/ /.• / - , : , I, t vi 1,1
boats, wliich landed at Limestone (Majsvilk), I : . |.
upduring the decade of 17SO-0O, and to some r-i 1 ; 'i , -, l.i;
now it began to blend with another current wlitrii i.m n,i . tl,- 1 in 1]
and tempting plains of Ohio. . . . These early reni<ival3 toKeiiltuli;
brought to our county overpuwcritig numbers of settlers from Easteri
Pennsylvania and New Jersey, who availed themselves of the opportii
uity to buy out the improvements of the setilers upon easy terms, o
this class of new settlers were the Friends, who setlKJ about Urowns
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
continued during a succeeding period of ten or fifteen
years.
Among tlie number of residents of Fayette County
wlio registered slaves under the requirement of tlie
law of 1780 are found the following-named persons :
Edward Cook, registered Oct. 12, 1780, seven slaves,
viz. : .Tames, aged 45 ; Sail, 3-5 ; Davy, 24 ; Joshua,
22 : Esther, 17 ; Nelly, 16 ; and Sue, 1 year.
Zachariah Connell, Oct. 28, 1780, two slaves, viz. :
Tom, aged 32, and Luce, 40.
Thomas Brown, Dec. 27, 1782, six-slaves.
"William McCormicI-, Dec. 30, 1782, five slaves.
James Finley, 1781 and 1782, eight slaves.
Van Swearingen, 1780, nine slaves, and in 1781
four more. '
William Goe, 1782, ten slaves.
Robert Beall, 18 slaves ; Walter Brisco, 9 ; Mar-
garet Hutton, 9 ; Isaac Meason, 8 ; James Cross, 8 ;
Andrew Linn, 7 ; Sarah Hardin, 7; Nancy Brashears,
12; Richard Noble, 7 ; Benjamin Stevens, C ; James
Dearth, (3; John Stevenson, 5; Samuel Kincaid, 5 ;
Peter Laughlin, .5; John JIcKibben, .5; Edmund
Freeman, 4; James Blackiston, 4; Isaac Pierce, 4 ;
Augustine Moore, 4; Hugh Laughlin, 4; Benjamin
Davis, 4; Jamc^ Hauimund, 4. Each of the f.illow-
ing-named rei;i-teru'l tlirc' slaves, viz.: Providence
Mounts, Jnhn :\Iiiit.i-, Margaret Vance, William Har-
rison, Diiiiiis S|iiiiiL:ur, Thomas Moore, JosephGrable,
Eobcrt Ilarrisiiii, I-uuc Newman, John Wells. Among
those registering two slaves each were Eichard Steven-
son, John Hardin, Mark Hardin, Robert Ross, Philip
Shute, John Mason, John Laughlin, Otho Brashears,
Jonathan Arnold, and Reziu Virgin.
An act supplementary and amendatory to the act
for the gradual abolition of slavery in Pennsylvania
was passed on the 29th of March, 1788. Among the
several provisions of this act was one declaring that
all persons owners of chil.lren born after March 1,
1780, who wnuld, uniU'r the act of that date, be liable
to serve till twciity-eiirlit years of age, must, in order
to hold >uch rliildrcn to servitude, cause them to be
registered on or before April 1, 1789, or within six
In aililition to the owners of slaves already men-
tioned, tin r.> lire I'ouiul the following names of per-
sons roui-l' iin- ^l:ives in Fayette County in and prior
to the year Isii:;, viz.:
Mrnulln, Toinuhip.
John Moore, wheelwright. Sarah Brown, single wo-
Ann Brown, widow. man.
Bazil Brown, farmer. Nancy Workman, widow.
Bullskin Township.
Betsey Beall, widow. William Boyd, Esq.
Elizabeth Stephenson, sin- Presley Carr Lane, Esq.
gle woman.
Sprino Hill Township.
Mary Moore, widow. Thomas Tobin, farmer.
John Wilson, farmer. Thomas Clare, "
Catharine Swearingen. Joshua Brown, "
John McFarland, major
militia.
Georges Township.
George Tobin, farmer. Hugh Cunningham, far-
mer.
Brownsrillc.
John McCluer Hazlip, William Crawford, mer-
farmer. chant.
Joseph Thornton, mer-
chant.
German Township.
John Huston, hatter and Andrew Rabb, miller.
merchant. Thomas Graham, mer-
Ephraim Walter, farmer. chant, Geneva.
Robert McLean, "
Dunbar Township.
John Canon, fiirmer. John Rogers, farmer and
James PauU, " inn-keeper.
Joseph Torrance, farmer. Jacob Murjihy, farmer.
Washinf//nn Township.
Hezekiah McGruder, fiir- John Patterson, Esq.
James Lynch, farmer.
Heirs of Samuel Culbert-
son.
mer.
Daniel Canon, farmer.
Samuel Burns, farmer.
John Goe, farmer.
tbe Scotch-!
Presl'j'ttTians genenilly." — Mouo}if)ah£la of
Old.
Col. Isrnel Slireve, tlie puiclmsorof Gon. Wastiinpcton's liinds in Perry
lo\viisliii>, Fayi.-tlL- Co., in ;i leltfr (luted Doc, 2G, 1TS9, nnd addressed to
hisbn.tl N' V •!■ I- .V, -aid,—
"I.ini li ill this idacc.owing to ttie great emigration
(lowiill. I I:- .- ir people werecrazy to gotatioat on tlieOhio.
many Ir;i\L , 1 \ - I l:^ iii^s, set out for they know not where, but too
Fran/:/ in Township.
Benjamin Stephens, far- James Paull, Esq.
mer. John Patterson, farmer.
Hannah Crawford, widow. Samuel Work, farmer.
John McClelland, farmer. Agnes Canon, widow.
Benoni Dawson, farmer. John Byers, farmer.
Union Township.
Ephraim Douglass, Esq. John Wood, saddler and
Alexander McClean, sur- merchant.
veyor. Joseph Huston, iron-mas-
John Jackson, miller. tcr.
Ann JIurphy, widow.
Luzerne Township.
Nathaniel Breading, Esq. James Hammond, farmer.
Andrew Frazer, farmer. John Hyatt, farmer.
Ti/rone Township.
Alexander Lonir, farmer.
ERECTION OF T'AYETTE COUNTY.
129
Under the law of March 29, 1788, registries of chil-
dren liable to servitude continued in Fayette for more
than half a century, and three hundred and fifty-four
such registries were made in the county during the
period from Feb. 5, 1780, to Jan. 12, 1839, after which
latter date none have been found in the records.
CHAPTER XIII.
ERECTION OF FAYETTE COUNTY— ESTABLISHMENT
OF COURTS— COUNTY BUILDINGS.
The original counties of Pennsylvania were Phil-
adelphia, Chester, and Buclcs, of whicli tlie western
boundaries were indefinite. On the 10th of May,
1729, an act was passed erecting the county of Lan-
caster, to embrace " all and singular the lands within
the province of Pennsylvania lying to the northward
of Octoraro Creek, and to the westward of a line of
marlced trees running from the north branch of the
said Octoraro Creek nortlieasterly to the river Schuyl-
kill ; . . . and the said Octoraro Creek, the line of
marked trees, and the river Schuylkill aforesaid shall
be the boundary line or division between said county
and the counties of Chester and Philadelphia." Thus
ihe nominal jurisdiction of Lancaster County ex-
tended westward to the western limits of the pro-
vince, including the territory which now forms the
county of Fayette.
In 1749 the inhabitants of the western parts of Lan-
caster County represented to the Governor and As-
sembly of the province that they were suffering great
hardships by reason of remoteness from the county-
seal, the courts of justice, and the public offices, and
prayed for the formation of a new county from that
part of Lancaster ; whereupon, on the 27th of Jan-
uary, 1750, it was by the General Assembly enacted
"That all and singular the lands lying within the
province of Pennsylvania aforesaid to the westward
of Susquehanna, and northward and westward of the
county of York,' be and are hereby erected into a
county named and hereafter to be called Cumber-
land, bounded northward and westward with the line
of the province, eastward partly with the river Sus-
quehanna and partly with the said county of York,
and southward in part by the said county of York
and part by the line dividing the .said province from
that of Maryland."
For more than twenty years, a period covering the
campaigns of Washington and Braddock and the
1 York County had been erected a short time previously (Aug. 19,
1749), to embrace " all and singular the lands lying witliin the province
of Pennsylvania to the westward of the river Susquehanna and south-
ward and eastward of the South Mountain, . . . bounded northward
and westward by a line to be run from the said river Susquehanna along
the ridge of the said South Mountain until it shall intersect the Miiry-
land line, southward by the said Maryland line, and eastward by the
said river Susquehanna."
planting of the earlier settlements in the valleys of
the Youghiogheny and Monongahela, Cumberland
continued to include the region west of the Laurel
Hill range. On the 9th of March, 1771, that region
(embracing the present counties of Fayette, West-
moreland, Washington, Allegheny, and contiguous
country) passed to the jurisdiction of Bedford County,
which was erected by an act of that date, to include
" all and singular the lands lying and being within
the boundaries following, that is to say, beginning
I where the province line crosses the Tuscarora moun-
tain, and running along the summit of that mountain
1 to the Gap near the head of the Path Valley ; thence
with a north line to the Juniata; thence with the
Juniata to the mouth of Shaver's Creek ; thence north-
east to the line of Berks County ; thence along the
Berks County line northwestward to the western
bounds of the province; thence southward, according
to the several courses of the western boundary of the
province, to the southwest corner of the province,
and from thence eastward with the southern line of
the province to the place of beginning."
The territory of Bedford County west of the Laurel
Hill became Westmoreland by the passage (Feb. 26,
1773) of an act erecting the last-named county, to em-
brace "All and singular the lands lying within the
I province of Pennsylvania, and being within the boun-
I daries following, that is to say, beginning in the
I province line, where the most westerly branch, com-
monly called the South, or Great Branch of You-
ghiogheny River crosses the same ; then down the
easterly side of the said branch and river to the
Laurel Hill ; thence along the ridge of the said hill,
I northeastward, so far as it can be traced, or till it runs
i into the Allegheny Hill ; thence along the ridge di-
viding the waters of the Susquehanna and the Alle-
gheny Rivers to the purchase line at the head of
Susquehanna ; thence due west to the limits of the
province, and by the same to the place of beginning."
Westmoreland County was divided into townships
by the Court of Quarter Sessions, held at Robert
Hanna's house, April 6, 1773. "Before William
j Crawford, Esq., and his associates, justices of the same
court, the court proceeded to divide the said county
I into the following townships, by the limits and de-
! scriptions hereafter following, viz." Then follows a
description of the boundary lines of the several town-
ships, viz. : Fairfield, Donegal, Huntington, Mount
Pleasant, Hempfield, Pitt, Tyrone, Springhill, Men-
alien, Rostraver, and Armstrong, the descriptions of
the five townships embracing the present county of
Fayette being as follows :
Tyrone. " Beginning at the mouth of Jacob's Creek,
and running up that creek to the line of Fairfield;
thence with that line to the Youghiogheny; thence
along to the foot of Laurel Hill, to Gist's; thence by
Burd's road to where it crosses Redstone Creek;
thence down that creek to the mouth ; thence with a
straight line to the beginning."
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Springhill. "Beginning at the mouth of Red-
stone Creek, and running thence a due west course
to the western boundary of the province ; thence with |
the province line to the southern boundary of the
province ; then east with that line to where it crosses '
the Youghiogheny ; then with the Youghiogheny to
Laurel Hill; then with the line of Tyrone to Gist's,
and thence with that line to the beginning."
Menullen. " Beginning at the mouth of Brown's
Run, thence due east to the top of Laurel Hill, and
. . . westward to the limits of the province."
Rostraver. "Beginning at the mouth of Jacob's |
Creek, and running down the Youghiogheny to where
it joins the Monongahela, then up the Monongahela
to the mouth of the Redstone Creek, and thence with
a straight line to the beginning."
Donegal. "To begin where the line of Fairfield
township intersects the county line, and to run along
that line to where the Youghiogheny crosses the same ;
thence down the north side of the Youghiogheny to
the top of Chestnut Ridge ; thence along the top of i
Chestnut Ridge to the line of Armstrong ; thence up
the Loyal Hanna to the mouth of the Big Roaring
Run, and thence up said run to the beginning."
The project to form the county of Fayette from the
southern part of Westmoreland was agitated as early
as 1781. The old county had in that year been shorn I
of its territory west of the Monongahela by the erec-
tion of Washington County, and now the project to
reduce its limits still farther by the formation of
Fayette met with strong opposition in the other parts.
Among the many remonstrances against it was the I
following, a letter from Christopher Hays to Presi-
dent Moore,' dated Sept. 20, 1782 :
"... I Have been Informed By Bill Printed for
Public Consideration that the County of Westmore-
land will or is to be Divided into Two Counties '
Unless Opposed by the Public. If the New County
should take Place Westmoreland County will be To-
tally Ruined, and in a short Time will Become an
Easy Pray to the Enemy,- as the Major Part of what
will be Left to this County are at Present in Forts
and Blockhouses, scarcely able of supporting them-
selves, and of Consequence will Readyly be Ruined
if we rely on the Protection of the Lieutenants of the
other County, I Therefore would Beg the Favour of
you, to use your Influence & Interest with the Prin-
ciple Memlicrs of the Assembly of this State to Lave
said Bill made Yoid & of None Effect, and to Move
the seat of justice of this County Into some Interior
Part of the County, & in so Doing you will Much
oblige the Distressed of Westmoreland and your
" Most Obedient Humble servant
"Christo. Hays."
' Pa. Archives, ix. 637.
2 The IndiaiiB, incited liy tlis
threatening the northern settlei
weeks before iiail burned iiiid des
! at that time constantly
But the remonstrances failed to effect the purpose
for which they were intended, and on the 26th of Sep-
tember, 1783, the General Assembly passed an act,
which, after reciting in its preamble that " a great
number of the inhabitants of that part of Westmore-
land County circumscribed by the rivers Monongahela
and Youghiogeny and Mason and Dixon's line have by
their petition humbly represented to the Assembly of
this State the great inconvenience they labor under
by reason of their distauce from the seat of judica-
ture in said county," proceeded to enact and declare
" That all and singular the lands lying within that
part of Westmoreland County bounded as herein-
after described: beginning at Monongahela River
where Mason and Dixon's line intersects the same ;
thence down said river to the mouth of Speir's Run ;
thence by a straight line to the mouth of Jacob's
Creek ; thence by the Youghiogeny River to the
forks of the same ; thence up the southwest branch of
the said river, by a part of Bedford County, to Mason
and Dixon's line ; thence by said line to the Monon-
gahela River aforesaid, be and hereby are erected into
a county named and hereafter to be called Fayette*
County."
The county of Fayette, as formed and erected by
the act of 1783, embraced all that is within the pres-
ent limits of the county west of the Youghiogheny,
but nothing on the other side of the river. On the
17th of February, 1784, an act was passed annexing
to Fayette the territory which it now embraces east
and northeast of the Youghiogheny, viz. : " All that
part of Westmoreland County beginning at the mouth'
of Jacob's Creek, thence up the main branch of the
said creek to Cherry's mill, thence along the road
leading to Jones's mill until the same shall intersect
the line of Bedford County,* thence southwesterly by
the line of Bedford County aforesaid until the same
intersects the Youghiogeny River, thence down the
said river to the place of beginning."
The act erecting the county provided, in one of its
sections, " That all taxes already laid within the
bounds of the county of Fayette by virtue of any act
of the General Assembly of this State which are not
already paid shall be collected by the respective col-
lectors within the bounds aforesaid and paid into the
hands of the treasurer of Westmoreland County. . ."
But it appears that this matter of the collection of
taxes at that time in Fayette County was a very em-
barrassing one, that the attempt to make such col-
^So nan
Wasliiugto
■• Tlie part of the line from Cherry's Mill east to the line of Somerset
County being found to be obscure and not well defined, was run out and
established by commissioners appointed by the Governor for the purpose,
under authority of an act passed March 1, 1SU6.
The line along the crest of Laurel Hill, between Fayette and Somer-
set Counties, being indefinite, was established under authority of an act
of Assembly passed April 17, 1844, by John Hanna, of Somerset, and
John R. Lqve, of Fayette, commissioners, under
work was done by H. S. Holi'rook. Es(]., surveyor.
ERECTION OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
131
lection met ^Yith resistance, and that in various parts
of tlie county, as well as in Washington and West-
moreland/ outrages and violence were not uncoin- ,
mon. That the new county (particularly Menallen j
township and the country on Georges Creek) was
then in a state of almost anarchy is shown by the
tenor of various letters and documents found in the
archives of the State, though the occurrences and
circumstances to which they refer cannot at the
present time be fully understood. Copies of some of
the papers mentioned are here given, viz. :
Later of Secretarij Armsfroiip to Michael Huffna^jle, of
Westmoreland County.
" PlIItADF.I.PHIA, Nov. 15, 1783.
" De.\r Sir,— Your letter of the 16th Ult. has been
received. The licentious disposition discovered in
Menallen township is not a little alarming, & in th<3
Opinion of Council requires an early and vigorous
correction.
" Upon the receipt of this you will therefore as-
semble the Magistracy of that part of the County, &
with them adopt the most efficient measures to in-
vestigate the business and enforce the laws.
"J. Armstrong, Jr.,
" Secry."
Ephrahn Douglass to President Dickinson.
"Uniontow.v, 2(1 Felii-uary, 1784.
" The instructions of Council respecting the oppo-
sition to assessment in Menallen township I laid be-
fore the Justices as directed, but they have not yet
come to any resolution thereon ; some of them I And'
are of opinion that the reviving it at this distant time
might be attended with more vexatious consequences
than the suffering it to be forgotten will probably
produce. For this reason, and iu consideration of
their since peaceable demeanor, I should incline to
agree with them that for the present, until the author-
ity of the Court becomes by degrees and habitude of
obedience more firmly established in the general ac-
quiescence of all descriptions of people within the
County, and a Goal and other objects of popular ter-
ror be erected to impress on their minds an idea of
the punishment annexed to a breach of the laws,
1 The foUowing letter from Christoiilier ILiys to President Moore,
(liltcil " Westmoreland County, Si-pt. 20, 1782," shows tliiit the iissess-
ment and collection of tuxes was forcibly resisted before the erection of
Fayette, viz.:
"... As our Assessors was tiilviug their Returns According to Law,
the Opposers Assembled under arms, Drove tlicni off from tlieir Deanty,
Fired Guns at them, and say tliey will not Piiy any Taxes, nor be Obe-
dient to our Laws, being they never took the outh of Fidelity to this
State, But moans to support a New State. I should think it wonld not
he amiss if the Houourablo Council would send a number of Proclama-
tions a<;ainst all those that is or will be in Opposition of all Laws and
Lawfull Proceeding in this State, as there is .t Number such in our
Territories, & will of Consequence encourage n Number More Unless
something Done to Oppose them; the Citizens of these Two Counties
[Westmoreland and Washington] Think it Extremely Heard to pay Taxes
& be nearle all summer under arms & Receive Neither Pay nor Pro-
visions, as Each Man has to Find mostly their own Provisions while on
lenient measures might pi'oduce^as good effects as
the most rigorous ones that justice could adopt, were
not the wisdom and directions of Council opposed to
this opinion. To these reasons for declining the
prosecution of offenders if their identity could be
made to appear (which I think very doubtful) might
be added otiiers that I am distressed to be obliged to
take notice of. The Tax not having been assessed till
after the division of the County, the authority of the
Commissioners of Westmoreland then became justly
questionable, and the total want of Commissioners in
this County to levy a Tax of any kind, either for the
State or to answer the exigencies of the County, and
the conseqent inability of the Trustees to perform the
duties assigned them by the Legislature, may all be
subjects of consideration in this case. For, from an
unhappy misconception of the law for dividing West-
moreland, this county has not an officer of any kind,
except such as were created or continued by the Act
or appointed by Council. Denied a separate election of
a member in Council and representative in Assembly
till the general election of the present year,'- they un-
fortunately concluded that this inability extended to
all the other elective officers of the County, and in
consequence of this belief voted for them in con-
junction with Westmoreland. . . . The Trustees have
appointed next Monday to meet on and begin the
partition line between tliis county and Westmoreland
on this condition, which Col. MacLean, who is to be
executive person, has generously agreed to — to pay
all the expence at some future time, when it shall be
iu their power to call upon the County Commissioners
for the money. And necessity has suggested to us the
expedient of building a temporary Goal by subscrip-
tion, which is now on foot."
Ephruim Douglass to Secretary Armstrong^'
" UmoxTOW.v, May 20, 1784.
" The County Commissioners are so much counter-
acted by the rabble of this country that it appears
hardly probable the Taxes will ever be collected on
the present mode. In the township of Menallen in
particular, which includes this place, agreeable to its
limits in the Duplicate, the terror of undertaking the
duty of Collector has determined several to refuse it
under the high penalty annexed. Two only have ac-
cepted it, and these have both been robbed by some
ruffians unknown, and in the night, of their Dupli-
cates. The inhabitants of the other townships have
2 The act erecting the county provided, Seel i.n ltj, "Tlmt ihis net shall
not take effect until the first day of Septeinln i , \v lii< h will >"■ in Ihcyear
of our Lord 1784, so fur as the same repiv, t^ th- .1. . n"ii •■( Censors,
a Counsellor [Coundll..il,^iMll:.'l>r.---.ii:i!iv-i..i ii;r (.. i,,:,,! Assembly;
but the inhabitants .: I 1 ' -I -i I' ittlieen-
sning election, eleet ' i- , i ' . ■ i K , ■;' :v's in As-
sembly in conjunctiuti \\<Mi III. lull J II. Ill- <. I \\ .. -nil. 1.(1. ndi'ounty,
agreeable to the diieetiuiis uf the cuiisliiiitiun anU tlie laws now in
force." And from Mr. Douglass' letter it appears that the people of Fa-
yette had supposed that the same provision applied to the election of
all county officers.
132
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
not sono such lengtlis, but complain so much of the
hardships and want of money that I fear very little
is to be hoped from them. On the other hand, the
banditti frnin Bucks County, or some others equally
liid, or, liiorc iirolmlily. b'>tli, have established them-
^clves in siiinc part uf tliis country not certainly
knciwn, but tlioii^lit to be in the deserted part of
WasliinL'tim Cuunty, whence tliey make frequent in-
ciii-si<ins intii the settlements under cover of the
niiiht, Irnily the inhabitants, sometimes beat them
iiiinifrrifiilly, and always rob them of such of their
iniipt'iiy :w thry think proper, and then retire to their
hnkiny-placi's. . . . Tliis county, however, and even
this town, lias suirerecl l)y them, though tliey came in
tlie cliaractcr of tliieves and not of robbers here [that
is, to Uniontown]. And yet nothing has been at-
tempted hitherto to punish or bring them to justice,
partly, perhaps, because there are not yet a sufficient
number provoked by their losses, but principally from
the improbability of succeeding in the attempt."
-Deposition of James Bell}
F.LyotIc County,
Jiimes Bell, of George T.nvnship nn
1 on oath before nic, tlio suliscriljur,
tlie fors'i County the 5th day of .Jun
tlio night between the 2<i iinil Z^ ihii
I the Dnelliiig House of PhiUn Jcnkni
toles Cirkr.l ii, thrir hiu.Js, ,vho did violently assault <t Be.it
liiin the :.'i .leiihios Mi.a Henianded his Dublicate and money
with their ( 'nrlird |.i-|nls at liis Krcast, and he got up & went to
the Iloou, nhr,-,, |„s imldirate was, while one stayed and kept
sai.l Iiepnunil n„ lii. seat, hut ho understood They Itohbed s'i
Jenliin^ nl hi- llnhlirale warrant and money i threatening if
Ever he had any Ciurerii will, tli- r.u-a,-^ II,. v would burn
hiu, <tail heha.l, or irao.v.ilhr, |.,- .),- >,., ,:,,,; r,,„eernwith
it they would ,1.,... |.,il„,„; ,.,.r ■ ■ I .. , ' ■ , i , > , i ■ a la 11 man With
a riuoling .hirt ,„,, .Iher »a. ol a loidJl. ...e, had on a Hunt-
ing shirt and trowsers, the other was a less sized man with a
Hunting shirt & Trowsers on, and all their faces were streaked
with Black.
"Jamrs Bell.
"Taken made A signed the Day A ycare above written, before
" I^OBEKT ElClIliV."
Chn.topher Iliys to PreAkut Dtchiii^on:-
" WEaT.MunEl.AND COUNTV, 14th Juiio, 178-1.
"Deai! Sir:
"My best compliments wait on your Excellency
and Family. I take this opportunity to infonii your
Excellency that a cnsid-niblr number cf Inlialiit-
ants (formerly Virginians, and in i>p;iiisitiiin tn tlio
Laws and Governini'iit olthis State i liavc now tiirneil
lint open Robbers, and -o ii.dorinus that scare-.' two
days pass that some luitraiic i^ not ciiiiiiiittt-d in
one part or other of tliis Country, tho' Fayette and
AVashington Counties seem, at present, to bo the prin-
cipal seat of Depredation. Last Wednesday the Col-
lector was robbed near Besin's Town, in Fayette
County, of about twenty-two pounds in Cash, his
Warrant and Duplicate taken from him, and his per-
son grossly abused. Sundry other robberies liave
been committed lately in Washington and Fayette
Counties, mostly on the Property of the most noted
defenders of the Country during the late conflict. . . .
I would beg the favor of your Excellency to send me
the late acts of Assembly by my son-in-law, Capt".
Henderson, and the favor shall be gratefully acknowl-
edged by
" Sir, with the highest respect,
" Your Excellency's most obedient
"Humble Servant,
"Chelstopher Hays.
"His Excellency John Dickinson, Esq."
ulfrom Faijelte Count;!, 17S4.-''
'To his Excellency .John Dii
Supreme K.xceutive Council,
Esqu
President
"IlonrdSr. — The Inhabitant.'! of Stewart's Crossings beg leave
to represent your Excellency; That we wore much sur]>ris'd on
being presented with yc Copy of a Letter by one of your worthy
niombcrs, which was sent to your Exeelleney, informing you
that a considerable number of ye Inhabitants {formerly Vir-
ginians), in apposition to the Laws and Government of this
State, have now turned out ojien Robbers. "Wc are happy that
we have it in our power to present this to your E.\cellency by
tho hands of a Gentleman, whom we hope will do us the Ilonr
to state us impartially in our fair character without respect of
parties, as this Gentleman is well acquainted with yo circum-
stance of ye whole matter in doing us the llonour of accompa-
nying us in going in search of those Kobbers and suppressing
such Burglars. We acknowledge we were brought up under yo
Government of Virginia, and were ruled by that Government
while the Territorial Disputes subsisted between the two Stales,
But when they thought propcrto adjust ye Boundaries, we were
willing to submit to ye Laws of Pennsylvania, and hope your
E.xeellcncy will find us as true Citizens as any belonging to yo
State, as we have made it evident on every occasion. Wo have
always been willing to risque our all in the glorious cause we
have been so long contending for, which wo can make nianife.-t
by Sundry Gentlemen who are as fully acquainted wilh us as
the author of that Letter which was sent to your Excellency.
And amongst others, Col. JloCieno who has suffered on fatigue,
with those who seem at present to bo the objects of such
malevolent ridicule without the least reason. Wu were happy
in believing that all party matters were buried in oblivion,
but are greatly ooncorncd to find the contrary. Col. Hays
has related in another Letter to your Excellency, that those
who bore the Burden of yc War must now be ruled over liy
I those who are Enemies in tlicir Hearts to yc State. AVc
I would appeal to ye knowledge and Candour of the several
officers who have commanded in this Department, whether tho
people thus stigmatized have been more backward in defense
1 of our common rights than any of our neighbours. We must
beg your Excellency's pardon, for making so free, from ye most
intolerable character your Excellency had of us, but we shall
refer you to that worthy Gentleman Major Douglass, who is
ESTABLISHMENT OF COURTS.
133
rnthcr bcUor acquaintea with us than Col. Hay?. So makes
bold to subscribe ourselves your Excellency's most obedient and
bumble servants.
" RoBKiiT Beall, Marci-s Stf.ve.nso.n-,
" Zaoh's. Cox.N'ell, Moses Smith,
" Wm. MoCoRMicK, Jas. Davis,
"John Stevexsos, William Conxell."
EST.ABLISIIMEXT OF COURT,?.
The act by which Fayette County was erected pro-
vided and declared "That the Justices of the Peace
commissioned at the time of passjng this act, and re-
siding within the county of Fayette, or any three of
them, shall and may hold courts of General Quarter
Sessions of the peace, and General Gaol Delivery, and
county courts for holding of Pleas ; and shall have all
and singular the powers, rights, jurisdictions, and
authorities, to all intents and purpo.^es, as other the
Justices of Courts of General Quarter Sessions, and
Justices of the county courts for holding of Pleas in
the other counties, may, can, or ought to have in their
.respective counties; which said courts shall sit and be
held for the county of Fayette on the Tuesday pre-
ceding the courts of Quarter Sessions and Common
Pleas in Washington County in every year, at the
school-house or some fit place in the town of Union,
in the said county, until a court-house be built ; and
when the same is built and erected in the county
aforesaid, the said several courts shall then be holden
and kept at the said court-house on the days before
mentioned."
Under this provision and authority, the first term
of the Court of Quarter Sessions and Common Pleas
for Fayette County was held in the school-house at
Uniontown on the fourth Tuesday in December,
1783, before Philip Rogers, Esq., and his associates,
Alexander McClean, Robert Adams, John Allen,
Robert Ritchie, and Andrew Rabb, all justices in and
for the county of Westmoreland. The Grand Inquest
was composed as follows: John Powers, Ebenezer
Finley, Henry Swindler, John Beeson, James Ritter,
Nathan Springier, Thomas Kendall, David Hogg,
William McFarlane, Samuel Lyon, John Patrick,
Thomas Gaddis, Jacob Rich, Edward Hatfield, Den-
nis Springer, Charles Hickman, Nathaniel Breading,
Reuben Camp, and Hugh McCreary.
The first business of the court was the admission of
attorneys, viz. : Thomas Scott, Hugh M. Brackenridgc,
David Bradford, Michael Huffnagle, George Thomp-
son, Robert Galbraith, Samuel Irwin, and David Red-
ick. There were brought before the court five cases
of assault and battery, one of assault, and two of bas-
tardy. The court proceeded to fix " tavern rates," to
license tavern-keepers, and to subdivide the county
into nine townships,' viz. : Washington, Franklin, Lu-
i Additional townships of Fayetto County have been erected iis follows:
T.vronc, March, 1784; Biillskin, March, 1784, Bedstone, December, 1797;
Salt Lick, December, 1797; Duubar, Decombei-, 17US; Bridgeport, No-
vember, ISl.i ; Brownsville, November, 1 817 ; Connellsville, Oct. 31, 1822 ;
zerne, Menallen, Union, German, Georges, Spring
Hill, and Wharton. The holding of this first court
for Fayette was mentioned by Ephraim Douglass, in
a letter to President Dickinson, dated " Uniontown,
2d February,. 1784," viz.: "The courts were opened
for this County on the 23d of December last; the
gathering of people was pretty numerous, and I was
not alone in fearing that we should have had frequent
proofs of that turbulence of spirit with which they
have been so generally, perhaps so justly , stigmatized,
but I now take great satisfaction in doing them the
justice to say that they behaved to a man with good
order and decency ; our grand jury was really re-
spectable, equal at least to many I have seen in courts
of long standing. Little business was done, other
than dividing the County into Townships." -
At the June session of 1784, Richard Merryfield
was brought before the court " for prophane swearing
and for contemptuous behaviour to John Allen, Es-
quire, one of the Justices of this Court, now attending
Court. And it being proved to the Court that the
Deft, swore one prophane oath in these words, ' By
G — d,' the Court fine hiin 10.'. therefor, and order
that he find surety for his good behaviour till next
Court in the sum of £50, and that he be committed
till this Judgement be complied with."
The first judge " learned in the law" who presided
in the Fayette County courts was the Hon. Alexan-
der Addison, who held his first term at Uniontown
on the third Monday- in September, 1791, Fayette
County then forming part of the Fifth Judicial Dis-
trict. Judge Addison's successor was Samuel Rob-
erts, who first presided in March, 1803, and was com-
missioned April 30th in the same year.
The Fourteenth Judicial District, including Fay-
ette County, was established by act of Assembly in
1818, and in July of thesameyearThomasH. Baird was
commissioned president judge of said district. His
successor was the Hon. Nathaniel Ewing, appointed
Feb. 15, 1838, to fill a vacancy, and continued in the
office for ten years.
Samuel A. Gilmore was appointed and commis-
sioned president judge of the Fourteenth District
Feb. 25, 1848. In October, 1851, he was elected,
under the constitutional amendment making the
oflSce elective. He was commissioned Nov. 6, 1851,
and served more than ten years. James Lindsey was
elected in October, 1861, and held his first term as
president judge in December of that year. He died
Sept. 1, 18G4. His successor was John K. Ewing,
appointed and commissioned president judge in No-
vember, 1864. He presided at the terms of Decem-
Ilenry Clay, June 9, 1824; Perry,
Nichidson, Dec. 19, lS4.i; Yooglii
Marcli 10,1849; North Union ao.l S
March, 1855, at which time tli.- I.
exist, a part of its territory beinL' n
annexed to Sprinsfield. In Srjt.
iPcn
.\rch..
134
IITSTOIIY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
ber, 1864, and March, June, and September, 1865.
Samuel A. Gilmore was elected in the fall of 1865,
and served on the bench till his death, which occurred
in May, 1873.
Judge Edward Campbell was appointed to fill the
vacancy occasioned by the death of Gilmore, and ,
presided at the terms of June and September, 1873.
The Hon. Alpheus E. Willson was elected in Octo-
ber, 1873, held his first term at Uniontown in De-
cember of that year, and is still president judge of
the Fourteenth Judicial District, comprising the
counties of Fayette and Greene.
Orphans' Courts were established in Pennsylvania
by an act passed in 1713, which provided and de-
clared "that the justices of the Court of General
Quarter Sessions of the Peace in each county of this
province, or so many of thera as are or shall be from
time to time enabled to hold these courts, shall have
full power and are hereby empowered, in the same
week that they are or shall be by law directed to
hold the same courts, or at such other times as they
shall see occasion, to hold and keep a court of record
in each of the said counties, which shall be styled
' The Orphans' Court.' "
By act of the 13th of April, 1791, for establishing
courts of justice in conformity to the constitution,
provision was made for the holding of Orphans'
Courts "at such stated times as the judges of said
courts in their respective counties shall for each year
ordain and establish."
The first record of the Orphans' Court of Fayette
County is dated Dec. 24, 1783, at which time a terra
of the court was held by Justices Alexander Mo-
Clean, Philip Rogers, Eobert Adams, John Allen,
Eobert Ritchie, and Andrew Rabb. The business
done was the appointment of guardians over the
three minor children of John Moore, deceased, viz. :
George Cott for Pliilip Moore, Thomas Kendall for
Henry Moore, and Michael Moore, Jr., for George
Moore.
The old constitution of Pennsylvania provided that
Orphans' Courts should be held quarterly in each
city and county of the State. The i)resent constitu-
tion declares th;it "judges of the Courts of Common
Pleas, learned in the law, shall be judges of the
Courts of Oyer and Terminer, Quarter Sessions of
the Peace and General Jail Delivery, and of the
Orphans' Court."
COUXTY CriLDIXGS.
The courts of Fayette County were first held in the
school-hnii^r ill 1 ' iii'iiitiiwu, as provided and directed
in the a.t invli.i- tliu county. In February, 1784,
Ephraiiii l>nii-l:i^s, the first prothonotary of Fa.yette,
who had then recently removed to Uniontown to as-
sune the duties of his oflice, wrote a letter to Gen.
Irvine, in which he described the appearance of the
new countv-seat, and said, " We have a court-house
and school-house in one." How long the school-
house continued to serve the double purpose is not
known, for nothing is found in the records having
reference to the erection of the first court-house.
The act erecting the county declared, " That it
shall and may be lawful to and for Edward Cook,
Robert Adams, Theophilus Phillips, James Dough-
erty, and Thomas Rodgcrs, all of the aforesaid county,
or any three of them, to purchase and take assurance
to them and their heirs of a piece of land situated in
Uniontown in trust, and for the use of the inhabitants
of said county, and thereon to erect and build a court-
house and prison sufficient to accommodate the public
service of said county." The cost of the land and
buildings was restricted by the act to one thousand
pounds current money of the State ; and the commis-
sioners and assessors of the county were authorized
and required to assess and levy taxes to that amount
(or such less amount as the trustees might deem suf-
ficient), "for purchasing the .said land and finishing
the said court-house and prison."
Under the authority so conferred on them, the trus- ^
tees purchased a site for the public buildings from
Henry Beeson, proprietor of Uniontown, who on the
16th day of March, 1784, " for and in consideration
of the love which he bears to the inhabitants of the
county of Fayette, and for the further consideration
of sixpence to him in hand well and truly paid," con-
veyed by deed to the said trustees for the county the
following described lot of ground, situate in the town
of Union, and at that part thereof known in the gen-
eral plan of the town by the name of the Centre Pub-
lic Ground, containing in breadth eastward and west-
ward on the street called Elbow Street ninety-nine
feet, bounded westward by lott No. 36, one hundred
and fifty feet, thence in the same direction forty feet
acro.ss Peters Street ; thence by the school-house lott
north sixty-four degrees and three-quarters, east two
hundred feet to Redstone Creek; thence by the said
creek seventy-seven feet, then by lott No. 20, two
hundred and forty-two feet, to the place of beginning,
containing one hundred and forty-six perches."
The ground then conveyed to the trustees was the
lot on which stand the present public buildings (court-
house, jail, and sheriff's residence) of the county.
On this lot was built the first court-house of the
county, but (as before stated) nothing is known of
the date of its erection, its size or style of construc-
tion. The only reference to this old building is found
in an entry in the commissioners' records, dated Jan.
7, 1796, which shows that on that day the board re-
solved to sell the old court-house ; and it was accord-
ingly advertised to be sold at public auction on Tues-
day, the 26th of that month. The sale took place ac-
cordingly, and the building was purchased by Dennis
Springer for £15 12s. 6il., to be removed from the pub-
lic grounds.
On the same day on which the commissioners re-
solved to sell the old building (Jan. 7, 1796) they
T!;;|||[i".:iiiii!l:i'!iit
COUNTY BUILDINGS.
135
contracted with Dennis Springer " to procure two
stoves for the use of the New Court House, and to
set them up in complete order." This shows that a
new court-house was then in process of construction
and well advanced towards completion. On the 30th
of March, 1796, a bill often dollars was allowed "for
Sconces for the use of Court' House."
June 28, 1796, John Smilie and Ephraim Douglass,
Esq., were appointed by the board of commissioners
to proceed, with Dennis Springer, contractor for the
new court-house building, " to judge the extra work
of said building and determine the value thereof, and
the sum said Springer shall receive over the sum con-
tracted for." On the 14th of December following,
Messrs. Smilie and Douglass reported " that the work
done by Den. Sjjringer more than his agreement is
worth £121 17s. del, equal to $325.03," for which sum
he then obtained an order on the treasurer. He had
previously received an order on the treasurer for
$1037.-50 ; total, $1362.-53.
Ephraim Douglass, Alexander McClean, and Jo-
seph Huston having been selected by the trustees
and Springer, the contractor for the new court-house
"to view the said building and Judge of its Suffi-
ciency," reported, Jan. 16, 1797, to the commissioners
"that the work is sufficiently done according to Con-
tract, as per report filed." On the 25th of April,
1801, Col. Alexander McClean was instructed and
empowered by the commissioners " to level the Court
House yard, and wall the same at the south Ex-
tremity of the Offices, and erect stone steps to ascend
from the street, or rather the public ground upon the
walk or yard, and to gravel the said Court House
yard to the door of the Court House and each of the
office doors, erect stone steps, prepare and set up the
necessary gates on the Avenues, &c., and to be al-
lowed a reasonable compensation therefor." On the
17th of September, 1802, John Miller rendered a bill
"for a Bell for the use of the Court House, with the
necessary Smith and carpenter work, $219.03." Feb.
1, 1812, the commissioners contracted with John
Miller, of Uniontown, "for roofing the Court House
and public building, at $7 per square."
JIarch 27, 1838, " Commissioners, with Carpenter,
engaged in adopting a plan for improvement of Court
House." Whether the contemplated improvement
was carried out or not does not appear from the
records.
On the 4th of February, 1845, the court-house was
destroyed by fire, which broke out while the court
was in session. The circumstances of the occurrence
are narrated in the commissioners' records as follows :
[CE, Fcl.y. 4, 1S4.3.
" Board met.
present
j Thomas Duncan,
■1 Robert Bleakley,
'[ P. F. Gibbons."
"The Commissioners are in session on account of
the Special Court. The court having met this day at
nine o'clock, was not in session more than an hour
when the court house was discovered to be on fire,
supposed to have caught from one of the stove pipes
or chimneys, and notwithstanding the exertions of a
great number of people, together with the aid of the
two fire companies of the borough of Uniontown with
their engines, the progress of the flames was not ar-
rested until the roof and second story were entirely
destroyed. The offices at the east and west ends of
the Court House were saved from the fire, though the
roof over the Commissioners', Sheriff's and Treas-
urer's Offices was considerably injured by the falling
of the gable end of the Court House. The fire hav-
ing been arrested and the fire companies dispersed,
the Commissioners employed John Mustard to pro-
cure hands and clear off the ashes and rubbish which
had fallen on the 2nd floor, when it was discovered
necessary to take up considerable part of the floor,
on account of fire between the floor and ceiling. Mr.
Patrick McDonald was employed to keep watch from
11 o'clock at night until daylight.
" Adjourned."
Feb. -5, 1845. — "The special court is sitting in
the upper room of John Dawson's Brick Building."
On the 2oth of February "the Commissioners agreed
with the trustees of the Presbyterian Church in Union-
town for the use of said church to hold the courts of
the County in, at the rate of 840 per quarter."
Sept. 22, 1845. — "Commissioners in session to an-
swer to a writ of Mandamus issued by the court against
them on the 13th inst., commanding them to erect a
new court-house where the old one stands, on as eco-
nomical a plan as possible, or shew cause, etc. The
commissioners, with their counsel, T. R. Davidson
and R. P. Flenikin, appeared before the court at the
commencement of the afternoon session, and the case
being brought up by Mr. Flenikin, the Court stated
that they were mistaken in the law, — a mandamus
would not lie against the county commissioners, and
ordered the mandamus and rule discharged, which
was done accordingly."
June 25, 1846. — "Commissioners engaged in pre-
paring the warrants and duplicates for militia fines ;
also examining the specifications for the new Court-
House preparatory to having them printed for gen-
eral circulation."
Aug. 4, 1846. — " Commissioners in session for the
purpose of receiving plans and proposals for the
construction and erection of a new Court-House and
county offices on the site where the old ones now
stand, public notice having been given four times or
more in the Genius of Liberty, Brownsville Free Press,
and Washington Examiner." On the 12th of August
the commissioners agreed to contract with Samuel
Bryan, Jr., of Harrisburg, for the erection of a new
court-house, to be eighty-five by fifty-eight feet in di-
mensions, two stories high, with county offices in the
first story, and court- and jury-rooms on the second
136
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLYANIA.
floor, agreeably to plans and specifications. Contract
price, §16,000. The articles of agreement and speci-
fications were signed and filed on the 2d of September
following, and the site fixed for the new court-house,
which, by the terms of the contract, was to be com-
pleted on or before the 1st of December, 1847. The
old court-house and offices were purchased by the
contractor, Bryan, at S-100.
The court-house (the same which is still occupied
by the courts of Fayette County) was not completed
at the time specified in the contract, but was finished
during the succeeding winter, and the court occupied
the new building at the March term of 1847. The
bell and fixtures were purchased on the 12th of July
following, for the sum of $373.60. On the 14th of
October in the same year the commissioners con-
tracted with Samuel Bryan, Jr., for casing four fire-
proof vaults in the uew court-house, for building a
wall on the south and west sides of the grounds, grad-
ing, paving, and erecting outbuildings, at $2700 for
the entire work.
COUNTY PRISOXS.
The erection of the first prison f,,r tlic usu of Fay-
ette County was referred to in a Ictti r <>l' Eiibraini
Douglass to President Dickin<-.ii, date.l Feb. 2, 1784.
" Necessity," be says, " lias suiiiicsted to us the expe-
dient of building a teiiii>iirary (iaol by subscription,
which is now on foot." The temporary prison (a log
biiildiu;.') was erected soon afterwards, on the lot now
occupied by ihe residence of the Hon. Daniel Kaine,
at Uniontown. This continued in use until 1787, when
a stone jail was built on the court-house ground. The
following reference to it is found in the minutes of
the Court of Quarter Sessions:
"June 2(1, 1787. — The Grand Inquest for the body
of the County of Fayette upon their oaths respec-
tively present that the new Stone Gaol by them this
day examined at tin- iiM|Uest of the Court is sufficient.
" June 21), 17"^7. — < )n representation of the prison-
ers in the new (_!aiil eijn/i>laining that their health is
injured by the ilamimess of it, t'.ie Court, upon con-
sideration tlienvil', order that they be removed back
On the 2i;ili of .lune, 17!i".i, the county commission-
ers rc'iu.'stril thr o;iini<jii of the court "with respects
to the buil.liii- an addition to tlie Gaol." Upon
which the r.,ur( rfconiiiiended ].osti.oiionient of the
The i)roposal to build an addition to the jail was
again brouj;ht u\i in the fall of f^ol, and early in the
following January the plan was prepared and the ne-
cessar}' estimates made. On the 6tli of February the
contract for building the addition was awarded to
John Fally, of Union township, at 81149.
Ill April, 1X12, the eoiiiinis^ioiiia-s decided to collect
and pre|iaie material- ihiiiiiu tii.' succeeding summer
for the erection of a new jail. ( )n the 2d of Jlay the
board " re^-eived proposals for furnishing stone for
building a new jail on the public ground near the old
I jail," but nothing was done until June 18th, when the
I board contracted with James Campbell for stone,
j at S4.50 per perch, "delivered on the public ground
! near the old jail." A contract for lime was made with
I William Jeffries, of Union town.ship, and on the 26th
of October, 1813, the board "contracted with Morris
[ Morris, late commissioner, to superintend the building
of the new Jail this fall."
Jan. 7, 1814, "a bill of work done at the new jail
to the amount of §2400. 75i being settled for with
Thomas Hadden, late treasurer, but not entered in
minutes, no order has been issued until the settle-
ment." It appears evident that up to this time the
work bad been done by the day, but on the 22d of
March following the board received proposals " for
completing the new jail, etc."
On the 30tli of July, 1814, the commissioners held
a meeting, "occasioned by the burning of the jail,
I and to provide for materials to repair the same-," and
an order was issued to Robert McLean for $2.2.5
" for whiskey furnished the men while extinguishing
the fire in the jail."
In 1820 (September 21) " the Commissioners agreed
with Edward Jones to raise the jail wall for $3 per
perch, as follows, to wit : On the South side to be
raised up even with the caves of the roof of the Jail,
to be dressed inside and outside in the same manner
that the front of the Jail is, and to extend about six
feet beyond the southwest corner; the East Side to
be raised as above, in the same manner that the un-
derpart of the same has been built."
I At the March term in 1827 the grand jury recom-
mended "that the Western and Northern walls of the
■ Jail be raised on a level with the southern and East-
] ern walls, and that they be covered with shingles,
the roof to project about three feet over the yard,
supported by braces, and that the whole inner sur-
face be plastered." The work was accordingly done
as recommended.
March 10, 1845, Absalom White and William
Dorau, of Union township, contracted with the com-
missioners "to repair the upper floor and put on a
uew roof on the County Jail, which was damaged by
fire on the 4th inst., for the sum of $135." The fire
referred to as having damaged the jail was the same
that broke out in the court-house, and so nearly de-
stroyed it that the present court-house was built iu
j its place. Loss than a mouth after that fire (viz.,
' April 1st) " the stable on the public ground, occupied
by the Sheriff", was destroyed by fire about one o'clock
A.M., supposed to be the work of an incendiary,
with the intention of destroying the county buildings
by fire."
The building and construction of the present jail
j was awarded by contract on the 10th of April, 1854,
to John P. Huskius for $15,973, " for building county
jail as per plans and specifications." The building,
■ comprising jail and sherifl''s residence, was completed
COUNTY BUILDINGS.
137
in 1855. On the 13tli of July, 1870, the construction
of the iron cells in the jail was let by contract to
K. C. Chapman for $6900.26, and other work to be
done on the building was awarded by contract to D.
S. Walker.
COUNTY OFFICE."^.
In March, 1796, the Court of Quarter Sessions of
Fayette County approved a plan .submitted by the
commissioners for the building of offices for the use
of county officers and the safe-keeping of the county
records. The work was advertised to be let by con-
tract to the lowest bidder at Uniontown'on the 16tli
of May following, but at that time the best bid re-
ceived was from Dennis Springer, at 4^2475, which
the commissioners regarded as too high, and the
"sale" was postponed to the following day, when no
bids were offered, and another postponement was
made to the 24th. Again there was an absence of
bids and an adjournment to the 25th, when the com-
missioners were compelled to accept the first bid of
Dennis Springer, to whom the contract was accord-
ingly awarded. In the following March the com-
missioners " enlarged the plan of offices, the former
one not allowed large enough ;" and on the 21st of
June, 1797, the commissioners "met at the Court-
house to agree on the place for building the offices
and lay oft" the ground for the foundation, which was
done agreeably to the enlarged plan."
The records do not show when the offices were
completed, but it appears that on the 16th of Novem-
ber, 1798, the commissioners " proceeded to business,
removed the chest of papers from Jonathan Miller's
io the new public offices, and filed the papers that
lay promiscuously in it in the respective boxes, agree-
able to their dates." And Dec. 26, 1798, the board
"issued an order in favor of Dennis Springer for
S362.50, being the last payment in full for building
the public offices." On the 27th, by recommendation
of the court, the board issued another order in favor
of Springer for $267.67, in addition to the original
contract.
In 1834 the offices were repaired and enlarged.
They were located at the east and west ends of the
court-house, and were badly damaged, though not
destroyed, in the lire of Feb. 4, 184o. In the erection
of the new court-house after that event, the offices
(which had been kept at various places' after the
fire) were provided for in the lower story of the main
building. They were removed to the court-house in
February, 1848, and have since remained there to the
present time.
In connection with the history of the public build-
ings at Uniontown, it would be hardly proper to omit
a mention of William Stamford, fiimiliarly known as
"Crazy Billy," who is now between eighty -five and
1 The registers and recorder's oRices were temporarily removed to
John KefTer's building, and afterwards to ** Dr. Hngh Campbell's shop."
The Blieriff's and prothonotary's offices were kept in the Lndington
house, and the cominissionera' office in John Dawson's bnilding.
ninety years of age, and has passed full half a century
of his life in and about the jail and court-house of
Fayette County. He is a native of Warwickshire,
England, and in 1826 or 1827 sailed from London for
America in the ship " Superior," Capt. Nesbit, land-
ing in New York. He says he drove coach in that
city, in Philadelphia, and in Baltimore. " Afterwards
lie went to Cumberland, Md., and worked on the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. From there he made'
his way to Wheeling, Va., and, as he says, "took to
the hills." The next known of him is that in 1831
he broke into the house of Alexander Crow, in Spring
Hill township, Fayette County, while the family were
at church. On their return he held the house against
their entrance, but aid was obtained, and he was cap-
tured and lodged in the jail at Uniontown. He was
taken before Judge Baird, who adjudged him insane
and remanded him to jail. While he was there John
Updegraff was brought to the prison in a state of in-
toxication. Stamford was chained to the floor, but
his irons allowed him considerable liberty to move,
and in a fit of unaccountable and uncontrollable
frenzy seized a billet of wood, rushed upon Updegrafl",
and gave him repeated blows over the head which
caused his death. After that time for eighteen years
he was kept in confinement, but during Sheriff Sny-
der's term he was allowed his liberty and put to work
in the stable and about the court-house and jail.
Since that time he has suffi^red no confinement, and
is allowed to move about Uniontown at will, but
passes nearly all his time in and about the court-house
grounds, having become greatly attached to the public
buildings which have sheltered him for so many years.
He says he was thirty-two years of age when he came
to this country, and now in his lucid moments he re-
lates many things which show a clear recollection of
the land of his birth, the rites and ceremonies of the
Episcopal Church, and the olden time poetry which
was popular in the days of his youth.
roOR-IIOUSE
AXD FARM.
-liniise found
liv the com-
th,. r..llowinn:
The earliest ref( riiico tn a
in the records of I'ayitlr i<
missioners, dated ( let. 14, is;
is a copy, viz. :
"To Daniel Lynch, Esq^, High Sheriff of the
County of Fayette : Sir, — Agreeably to the provisions
of an Act of Asscnilily U> yruxUlv Uir tlie erection of
a house for the eiiiplnyiiK'Ht and sii|i|iort of the Poor
in the County of Fayette, we hereby notify you that
the returns of the Judges of the Election held in the
several districts of the County of Fayette, on the S'"
inst. [it being the second Tuesday in October, A.n.
1822] have certified to us that at ilio said eK'rtiMii
there was given lor a roor-IIouse one thousand and
twenty-five votes, whereby it appears that there is a
majority in favour of the establishment of a poor-
house of four hundred and eleven votes. You will
therefore take such order therein as is provided by
1/
138
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
the law aforesaid." Nothing is found showing the
action talcen Ijy the sheriff in pursuance of the noti-
fication.
On the 12th of December, 1823, "The Poor-House
Directors met to estimate the expense of erecting the
Poor-House, and of lieeping the Poor for one year," 1
and on the 7th of January next following, the directors
purchased from Peter McCann a tract of land for a
poor-farm. The tract contained one hundred and
thirteen acres and ninety-nine perches, situated on ,
the National road, northwest of Uniontowu, in Union
township, near its western boundary. On the 2Cth of
April following, an order for one thousand dollars was
issued in favor of William Livingston, Frederick
Shearer, and Isaac Core, directors of the poor, to be
by them applied to the erection of a house upon the
poor-farm. August 14th in the same year another
order of the same amount was issued by the commis-
sioners to the directors of the poor, " to be appropriated
in paying for the poor-house tract and building the
poor-house thereon." A further sum of six hundred
dollars was appropriated for the same purpose in
1825, and tliree thousand five hundred dollars was
appropriated in 1S2G "' for repairs and additions."
On the 2d of June, 1834, the poor-farm was en-
larged by tlie ].>urchase from Alexander Turner for |
eight hundred and eighteen dollars of sixteen acres ;
and sixty perches of land adjoining the original tract. :
The following exhibit of the expenses of the poor- i
bouse and farm for the first two years is from the
auditor's book of minutes, viz. :
"Dr.
To cash 1
accounts of the p^
jntil Dec. 31, 1825,
ity treasury in the ye
S27G1.21
To c-.ish i-eoeivcd out of county treasury in the year
1S25 4inP,.45J
t;6SG7.G6i
" Cr.
By cash paid Jno. C. Marsh for building poor-house. $1(142.90
IDl.oli
oS().2Si
1)34. oa
llrr. 1,1. ls_',, 357.71)*
'• " provisions 165.19
" stock on farm °....! '.'.'.'.'.'.".'.'.'.' 162!l2i
'• furniluie liy..S4t
" h,li..i(in n.i 111. c.al. bank, etc 77.0(14
" tnasuicis salary in 1S24 56.25
" " •■ " " 1S25 40.1)0
'• " taxes 21.43
" dh'ecto.""acr'viMS in l's25.'.'.".".'.'.' !.'.'.';.'.'.'.' 3s!o4i
S6867.66i
" E. Dorr.LAS, Jr.,
'• Samuel Cleavixger, Auditors."
The total expenditure for the poor of the county
for the year 1872 was !?7597.14; for 1873, $1.5,739.25 ;
for 1874, $1'J,2GU.10; for 1876, $21,338.11; for 1877,
$19,487.69; for 1878, $29,854.35; for 1879, $25,164.74;
and for 1880, $16,484 ; viz. : for almshouse, $13,722.90,
and for poor outside the almshouse, $2761.10. The
productions of the poor-farm and garden for the same ,
year were 624 bushels wheat, 85 bushels onions, '
2500 bushels corn (ears), 4500 heads of cabbage, 1400
bushels potatoes, 25 busliels beets, 100 bushels turnips,
20 bushels beans and peas, 300 bushels apples, 8 bar-
rels sauer-kraut, 10 barrels apple butter, 21 barrels
cider, 10,000 pounds pork, 5000 pounds beef, 16 tons
hay.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE BAR OF FAYETTE COrNTY— FAYETTE CIVIL I
LIST— COUNTY SOCIETIES.
The first business done by the Court of Quarter
Sessions of Fayette County at its first term (Decem-
ber, 1783) was the admission of attorneys, of which
the following is the record: "Thomas Scott, Hugh!
M. Brackenridge, David Bradford, Michael Huffnagle,
George Thompson, Robert Galbrailh, Samuel Irwin,
and David Redick, Esquires, were admitted attor-
neys in the Courts of Quarter Sessions and Common
Pleas in this County, and took the oath according!
The attorney's roll shows the subsequent admissions
to have been as follows, viz. :
1784.
Thomas Smith, March.
John Woods, March.
David Semple, March.
James Ross, December.
1786.
James Carson, June.
1787.
Alex. Addison, March 20.
1789.
David St. Clair, Sept.
John Young, December.
1790.
H. Purviance, Sept. 22.
1792.
Hugh Ross, December.
1793.
Jos. Pentecost, Dec. IS.
1794.
Arthur St. Clair, June.
George Armstrong, June.
Parker Campbell, March.
Geo. Henry Keppel, Sept-
James ilorrisou, Sept.
Thomas Hadden, Sept.
Paul ilorrow, Sept.
1796.
Abram Morrison, March.
John Simonson, March.
James Allison, June.
Samuel Selley, Sept.
1797.
David McKeeban, March.
Thomas Collins, March.
Thomas Bailey, June 20.
J. Montgomery, June 20.
John Lyon, June 20.
Thomas Nesbitt, Sept.
Samuel Meghan, Sept.
1798.
Joseph Wrigley, June.
John Kennedy, Sept.
Thomas Meason, Sept.
.James Ashbrook, Sept.
William Ayres, Sept.
THE BAR OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
]3!)
1799.
George Hoyl, June.
1800.
Robert Callender, June.
1801.
S.im'l S. Harrison, June.
Kizen Davidge, Sept.
Daniel Duncan, Dec.
1802.
James Mountain, Sept.
180.3.
Isaac Meason, Jr., Sept.
: 1804.
M. Sexton, June.
Win. A. Thompson, Sept.
1805.
Elias E. Ell maker, June.
William Ward, Dec.
180(3.
Geo. P. Torrence, April.
1808.
John B. Alexander, Aug.
John B. Torr, November.
1809.
John Marshall, Sept.
1810.
John M. Austin, Aug. 10.
Thos. H. Baird, Aug. 21.
John H. Chapin, Aug. 21.
Richard Coulter.
Thomas McGibben, Nov.
1811.
Frederick Beers, Aug.
Thomas Irwin, April.
Joseph Becket, April.
John Dawson, Aug. 17.
1814.
T. M. T. McKennan, Nov.
1815.
Andrew Stewart, Jan. 9.
Charles Wilkins, April.
1816.
Richard Becson, Nov.
James B. Bowman.
Nath'l Ewing, Nov. 19.
1817.
W. M. Denny, April 17.
1818.
John Bouvier, Dec. 11.
John H. Ewing, Aug. 21.
James Hall, April 1.3.
Wm. S. Harvey, April 13.
Jacob Fisher, Aug. 17.^
1819.
Wm. Kennedy, March 5.
James Piper.
J.ames Herron, March.
Hiram Heaton, March 7.
Samuel Evans, Sept.
John H. Hopkins, Oct. 1(3.
W. G. Hawkins, March 6.
Jacob B. Miller, Nov. 5.
Thomas G. Morgan, Sept.
Joshua Seney, June 5.
1822.
J. D. Creigh, June 6.
1828.
Thos. L. Rogers, Jan. 11.
James Todd, Cct. 30.
A. Brackenridge, June 1/
Rich. W. Lane, April 1.
J. C. Simonson, Oct. 28.
Richard Bard, Nov. 1.
Sam'l Cleavinger, Jan. 4.
Alex. Wilson, June 13.
1828.
E. P. Oliphant, March.
1829.
JoshuaB. Howell, Jan. 5.
Moses Hampton, March 3.
Rice G. Hopwood.
Daniel C. Morris, Oct. 29.
John H. Wells, Oct. 29.
1831.
Alex. W. Acheson, Oct.
Robert P. Flenniken, Oct.
C. Forward.
Alfred Patterson, Oct.
William P. Wells.
James Veecli, October.
1835.
John H. Deford, Sept. 9.
John L. Dawson, Sept. 9.
D. S. Todd, June.
James Wilson.
1838.
Wm. E. Austin, Jan. 4.
Samuel B. Austin, June 7.
Thos. R. Davidson, Jan. 4.
1839.
Hiram Blackledge, June.
James A. Morris, Sept. 5.
James J. Moore.
1840.
Robert D. Clark, March 4.
R. T. Galloway, March 4.
N. B. Hogg, Sept. 18.
1841.
M. W. Irwin, Dec. 15.
3 ordered by the
to bo struck from tbc roll of attorneys
Geo. W. Bowie, March 18.
Daniel Kaine, March 18.
Ainzi McClean, June 10.
1843.
Edward Byerly, Sept. 5.
Ellis B. Dawson, June (3.
J. C. Flenniken, Sept. 5.
Michael B. King, Sept. 5.
1845.
Wm. Bayley, March 4.
R. D. Burd,"March5.
John Bierer, Sept. 2.
Daniel Downer, Sept. 2.
A. S. Hayden, Sept. 2.
S. Addison Irwin, June.
Job .Tohnston, Sept. 7.
A. M. Lynn, March 4.
J. A. Stevenson, March 4. H. W. Patterson, Mar. 2.
1846.
Frederick Bierer, March.
Charles H. Beeson, Dec.
William Beeson, Dec.
Edgar Cowan, Sept.
John K. Ewing, March.
Amzi Fuller, March.
John Sturgeon, March 6.
1847.
A. W. Barclay, Sept. 7.
G. T. Greenland, Mar. 9.
Samuel Gaither, June 8.
Alfred Howell, March 9.
A. D. McDougall, Mar. 9.
Wm. Parshall, Sept. 7.
S. D. Oliphant, Sept. 7.
1848.
Everard Bricrer, March 8.
Jolin Fuller, March 8.
John B. K:repp.s,Dec. 12.
A. 0. Patterson, March 8.
1849.
Thos. W. Porter, Mar. 5.
1850.
John McNeal, June.
J. N. H. Patrick, Dec. 2.
Thos. B. Searight, June.
Alpheus E. Willson.
AVilliam McDonald.
1852.
Wm. L. Bowman, Dec. 7.
A. H. Coflroth, Sept. 6.
W. W. Patrick, June 7.
John D. Roddy, Sept. 0.
1853.
Seth T. Hurd, Oct. 24.
185.5.
J. Walker Flennikin, Mar.
Eugene Ferrero, March.
Jetsan Jett, June 6.
1856.
Rich'd H. Austin, Jan. 8.
Cyrus Myers, Jan. 15.
1857.
A. J. Colbourn, Sept. 7.
Henry C. Dawson, June 2.
Peter A. Johns, Dec. 7.
G. W. K. Minor, Dec. 18.
HISTORY OP FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Wm. H. Playford, Sept.
J. H. Sewell, March 4.
185S.
John Collins, June 7.
1859.
1869.
Albert D. Boyd, March 1.
James K. Kerr, March 2.
1870.
G. R. Cochran, June 30.
John Lyon, June 30.
Wm. B. Pusey, Dec. 10.
Edward Campbell, Sept.
Geo. F. Dawson, Sept. ')
John Gallagher, Dec. 5,
Jos. C. Thornton, Dec. 17. N- Ewing, Jr., Sept. 4.
David H. Veech, Mar. 7. Wm. Snyder, June 6.
1871.
1800.
John W. Delbrd, Sept. 8.
Jas. G. Johnston, Mar. 5.
Geo. S. Ramsey, Mar. 5.
1861.
Isaac Bailey, Dec. 3.
Charles E. Boyd, Dec. 2.
J. Mundey Clark, Dec. 3.
Sam'l A. Gilmore, Dec. 2.
Peter T. Hunt, June 5.
Julius Shipley, Dec. 9.
T. B. Selinatterly, Dec. 9.
1863.
Herman S. Baer, Sept. 18.
H. Clay Dean, Sept. 11.
James Darby.
T. B. Graham, Sept. 11.
Jos. M. Ogilvee, Dee. 7.
Henry T.Schell, Sept. 17.
180.3.
'W. H. Hope, Dec. 5.
1860.
Harry Black, Sept. 4.
Jas. b. Ranisev, March 6.
William Baer, June 6.
A. M. Gibson, Dee. 2.
A. C. Nutt, Dec. 2.
1808.
C. P. Dunnoway, Mar.
W. G. Guiler, SeiH. 7.
Geo. W. Miller, :\Iar. 1
W.A.M.Dourll.Mar.
E. C. r.rhin, lirr. in.
M. Ham p. Todd, Sept.
1872.
J. J. Hazlitt, June 5.
S. L. Mestrezat, Dec. 7.
1873.
Eli Hewitt, Dec. 1.
1874.
Wm.
H. Coldrei
187o.
, Sept. 9
Lucius H. Rubj
J. Rogers Pauli,
N. Lyman Duke
And. B. Gonder
July 2.
Sept. 9.
s, Seiit. 9
Sept. 0.
1876.
W. A
I. Lo
S. E
. Davidson
e Johnson,
aus Ewing
Sept. 4.
June 7.
Sept. 4.
Alonzo C. Hagan, Mar. 5.
M. M. Cochran, June 5.
AV. E. Dunaway, Mar. 12.
H. F. Detwiler, Mar. 8.
James P. Grove, Mar. 24.
1878.
Paoli S. Jlorrow, Sept. 2.
David M. Hertzog, hiept. 2.
G. B. Hutchinson, Sept. 4.
1879.
F. M. Fuller, June 2.
R. P. Kennedy, Aug. 26.
1880.
L. IT. Tl, rasher, March 1.
A. II. Wy, ; Aug. 31.
A>h. T. D.iwiis, Aug. 31.
(leo. B. Kaine, Dec. 6.
William McGeorge, Jr.,
Feb. 19. '
Among the earliest lawyers practicing at the Fay-
ette bar and resident within the county were Thomas
Meason and John Lyon, whose names have come
down to the present generation in traditions of kindest
recollection. Both of them seemed to have military
tastes, and the ardor of Gen. Meason to serve his
country in the field led to his death at the compara-
tively early age of forty years. In the winter of
1812-13 he left his extensive practice to offer his ser-
vices to the government in the war against Great
Britain, and traveling from Uniontown to Washing-
ton City on horseback, the exposure of the journey
brought on an attack of fever which resulted fatally
soon after he reached the capital.
Thomas Meason was born on the extensive estate
of his father, Col. Isaac Meason, at Mount Braddock.
He read law in the office of James Ross, Esq., at
Pittsburgh ; was admitted to thebarof Fayette County,
Sept. 25, 1798, and very soon acquired a practice
equal to that of any lawyer in the county. In 1802
he was married to Nancy Kennedy, a sister of the
Hon. John Kennedy. Personally he was a man of
fine presence, and his popularity was such that it very
nearly secured him an election as member of Con-
gress, though he ran on the Federalist ticket against
Isaac Griffin, in adistrict (embracing Fayette County)
which was strongly Democratic.
John Lyon was born in Carlisle, Cumberland Co.,
Pa., Oct. 13, 1771, and graduated at Dickinson Col-
lege. He came to Fayette County for the first time,
with a mu.sket on his shoulder, as a private soldier in
the army that was sent to suppress the "Whiskey
Insurrection" in 1794, and returned east with the
troops when the " war" was over. But he was
strongly .attracted by the beauty and prospects of the
country which he had seen west of the mountains,
and it was not long before he came back to Fayette
County and located in Uniontown, where he was ad-
mitted to the bar, June 26, 1797. He married Pris-
cilla Coulter, of Greensburg (sister of the Hon. Rich-
ard Coulter), and resided in Uniontown in the practice
of his profession during the remainder of his life.
His residence was a house on Main Street (adjoining
the office of Gen. Meason), which is still standing.
His extensive learning and ami.able manners secured
for him the confidence and good will of all who knew
him. No lawyer stood higher in his profession, and
his tombstone, erected by the bar of the county, bears
testimony to the high character he ever sustained
among his professional brethren. He died Aug. 27,
1837.
Another of the prominent early lawyers of Fayette
County was John Kennedy, afterwards a judge of the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He was born in
Cumberland County, near Shippensburg, and was a
son of Thomas Kennedy, a prominent public man in
that section of the St.ate. Graduating at Dickinson
College, in the same class with Roger B. Taney (after-
wards chief justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States), he studied law under Judge Hamil-
ton, and after completing his course married a daugh-
ter of Judge Creigh, of Carlisle, and removed to
THE BAR OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
141
Uniontown, where he was admitted to the Fayette
County bar in 1798, and soon became oneof tlie most
prominent lawyers of this section of country. On
the 23d of November, 1830, he was appointed asso-
ciate justice of tlie Supreme Court of Pennsylvania,
which high otfice he held until his death in 1846.
At a meeting of the Philadelphia bar on the 28th of
August in that year, the following resolutions were
adopted on motion of John M. Rsad, attorney-gen-
eral of the State :
"Resolved, That the members of the bar of Phila-
delphia have heard with feelings of deep sorrow of
the decease of the Hon. John Kennedy, one of the
associate justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsyl-
vania.
"Resolved, That by indefatigable industry, unre-
mitting devotion to the study of law, united with a
sound judgment, a calm temper and uniform cour-
tesy of manner, this able judge has left behind him
a reputation which will long live in the recollections
of the bench, the bar, and the community."
Upon the passage of these resolutions on the death
of Judge Kennedy, Chief Justice Gibson said, —
"As the presiding officer of the court, it is my
business as it is my pleasure to express its satisfac-
tion at the tribute of respect paid by the bar to the
memory of our lamented brother. It was my good
fortune to know him from boyhood, and we all knew
him long enough at the bar or on the bench to ap-
preciate his value as a lawyer and as a man. My
brother Rogers and myself sat with him in this court
between fifteen and sixteen years, and we had ample
reason to admire his industry, learning, and judgment.
Indeed, his judicial labors were his recreations. He
clung to the common law as a child to its nurse, and
how much he drew from it may be seen in his opin-
ions, which by their elaborate minuteness reminds
us of the over-fullness of Lord Coke. Patient in in-
vestigation and slow in judgment, he seldom changed
his opinion. A cooler head and a warmer heart never
met together in the same person, and it is barely just
to say that he has not left behind him a more learned
lawyer or a more upright man."
John M. Austin was a native of Hartford, Conn.,
born in 1784. He studied law with Judge Baldwin,
of Pittsburgh, and practiced his profession in that city
for some time. He was admitted to the Fayette
County bar in August, 1810, from which time for
many years he was ranked with the prominent law-
yers of the county. He was the leading one among
the attorneys whose names were stricken from the roll
by Judge Baird in 1834, as hereafter noticed. His
death occurred in April, 1864.
Thomas Irwin was born in Philadelphia, Feb. 22,
1784. He studied law in that city, and removed to
Fayette County in 1811, and settled in Uniontown,
where he was admitted to the bar in April of that
year. In 1812 he was appointed district attorney.
Soon afterwards he was elected to the liCgislature
10
from Fayette County, and served in that body with
fidelity to his constituents and honor to himself. He
represented this district in the Twenty-first Congress
of the United States, and in 1831 was appointed by
President Jackson judge of the United States Dis-
trict Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania,
a position which he held for nearly thirty years, re-
signing it during the administration of President Bu-
chanan, and being succeeded by Judge McCandless.
Judge Irwin was a man of noble impulses and un-
swerving honesty, and was always greatly admired
and beloved by his friends and acquaintances in Fay-
ette County. He was a steadfast Democrat, but took
little part in politics in his later years. He was a
zealous member of the Episcopal Church, "and through
his long life his Christian virtues shone conspicuously
in all his various callings." He was an able and fear-
less lawyer, always true to his client and as just to his
opponent. He was an honest legislator and a faithful
and impartial judge. He died in Pittsburgh on the
14th of May, 1870, at the age of eighty -six years.
John Dawson was one of the most prominent law-
yers of Uniontown, where and in its vicinity he passed
almost seventy years of his long and useful life. He
was born in one of the northwestern counties of Vir-
ginia, July 13, 1788, and when about twenty years of
age removed to Uniontown, Pa., where in 1810 he
commenced the study of law with Gen. Thomas Mea-
son. After the death of Gen. Measou he finished his
studies with Judge John Kennedy, and was admitted
to the bar as a practicing attorney of the courts of
I Fayette County in August, 1813. He practiced his
1 profession successfully for more than thirty years, and
was considered a sound lawyer and safe counselor,
standing in the front rank among the members of the
Fayette County bar. He was an agreeable companion,
and possessed a fund of pleasing anecdotes, with which
he frequently entertained his friends. He was re-
markably kind in disposition and liberal in his bene-
factions, ever ready to assist others.
In 1820 he was married to Miss Ann Baily (only
daughter of Mr. Ellis Baily, of Uniontown), by whom
he had thirteen childj-en.
In 1851 he was appointed associate judge of Fay-
ette County by Governor William F. Johnston, and
served in that capacity with honor and distinction,
and to the entire satisfaction of the members of the
bar and the people of the county. His term of oflice
continued until the constitution of Pennsylvania was
changed, making the office of associate judge elective.
After he retired from the bench his principal busi-
ness was farming, which he superintended until about
1865, after which time he resided with his children in
Uniontown. His sight for several years was so defect-
ive that at times it amounted to total blindness. He
died in Uniontown on the 16th of January, 187o, in
the eighty-seventh year of his age.
On the 19th, at a meeting of members of the Fay-
ette County bar, convened in the court-house, it was
142
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
" Eewhcd, That in the death of the Hon. Jolin
Dawson the bar has lost a member whose ability,
learning, and integrity adorned the profession ; the
community an upright and intelligent citizen, who
ever executed with fidelity and zeal the many honor-
able trusts confided to him ; the church a friend, who
propagated faith by example, and proved it by works;
and his family a fond and devoted father, whose prac-
tice of the domestic virtues illustrated a character as
noble as it is rare. No tribute to his memory can
speak too warmly of the manner in which he dis-
charged the duties of every relation in life."
Andrew Stewart, a prominent member of the Fay-
ette County bar, and the most distinguished man in
political public life that the county ever produced,
was born in German township in 1791, and passed the
early years of his life on the farm of his father (Abra-
ham Stewart) and as a school-teacher and clerk in an
iron furnace. He received his education at Washing-
ton College, and immediately after his graduation at
that institution, studied law, and was admitted to the
bar at Uniontown in January, 1815, soon after which
he was elected to the General Assembly of Pennsyl-
vania, and served in tliat body for three years. He
was appointed I'liitid States District Attorney by
President ]Monnie, but resigned tlie position in 1820,
on his election to Congress from this district. Dur-
ing the period extending from that time to 1850 he
served in Congress for eighteen years, and by his
constant and stanch advocacy of the system of pro-
tection to American industry received, in political
circles throughout the Vnited States, the sobriquet of
'•Tariff Andy" .-^tewait. At the age of thirty-four
years he UK.ni.'l a >laM/htcr of David Shriver, of
Cumberhind, M'l, aud tliev became the parents of six
children. He died in Tniontown on the 16th of July,
1872, in Ills ciLility-second year. More extended men-
tion nf the events in the life of the Hon. Andrew
Stewart will be found in the history of Uniontown.
Nathaniel Ewing, son of William Ewing, one of
the early settlers in Luzerne township, Fayette Co.,
was born in that township, near Merrittstown, in
179(5, he being the second in age of a family of ten
children, all of wliom were born in this county. His
early >rar. wnv ]>:issed on the farm of his father
until lie eiileiiMl .letfcrson College, at which institu-
tion he iiiadiialeil with tlie highest honors of his
class. Alter Kavin- e(. liege he spent a year teaching
school in Newark, Di-l. He studied law in Washing-
ton, Pa., with Tliiiiuas MeGiltin, and was admitted to
the bar at I'niontown in November, ISIG.
The next year he began practice permanently in
UniontDWii, where his eommanding talents and supe-
rinr legal attainments soon secured him an extensive
and lucrative practice, and before many years he be-
came the acknowledged leader of the bar in tliis
]ilace. In several instances he succeeded in obtain-
ing from the Supreme Court of this State a reversal
of their previous decisions.
In February, 1822, he was married to Jane, daugh-
ter of Judge John Kennedy. She died in 1825,
and in 1830 he married Anne, daughter of David
Denny, of Chambersburg. On the 15th of February,
1838, he was appointed by Governor Joseph Ritner
president .judge of the Fourteenth Judicial District,
to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge
Thomas Baird. He served the constitutional term of
ten years, and left the bench with the increased con- ■
fidence of the people in his integrity and legal quali-
fications, and without a stain on his judicial ermine.
He never again returned to the practice of law, ex-
cept in occasional cases in the interest of old friends,
but such was the confidence of his legal brethren in
his ability and sound judgment that his advice was
often sought in important cases. As a citizen. Judge
Ewing was ever ready and anxious to promote the
interests of the community in which he lived. An
evidence of this is found in the early history of the
Fayette County Railroad. At a time when none could
be induced to join him in the enterprise, he gave his
time, his talents, and pecuniary and person.al aid to
carry it through, and it is quite certain that it could
not have been built at that time but for his energy
and influence. He died on the Sth of February,
1874.
John Bouvier was a resident of Fayette County for
about nine years, during a part of which time he
practiced as an attorney in Uniontown. He was a
native of the department of Du Gard, in the south of
France, and born in the year 1787. At the age of
fifteen he emigrated with his parents to Pliiladelphia,
where in 1812 he became a naturalized citizen of the
United States, and about that time erected a building
in West Philadelphia, which he used as a printing-
office, and w hich is still standing. Two years later he
removed to Fayette County, and located in Browns-
ville, where he established the American Telegraph, a
weekly newspaper. While publishing this paper he
was al.~o engaged in the study of law, and in Decem-
ber, 1818, he was admitted to the Fayette County bar
at Uniontown, to whioh borough he had removed in
the same year, and united his Telegraph newspaper
with the Oeiiiua of Libert//, being associated in the
editorship with John M. Austin. Bouvier, after his
admission to the bar, gave his attention principally
to the law, and iu July, 1820, sold his interest in the
paper. At the September term of 1822 he was ad-
mitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Pennsyl-
vania, and in the following year removed to Phil-
adelphia. He was appointed recorder of that city in
1836, and in 1838 was commissioned associate justice
of the Criminal Court. He continued to reside in
Philadelphia until his death, which occurred in 1851.
During the period of his residence in Uniontown,
Mr. Bouvier conceived the idea of compiling a law
dictionary for the use of his brethren of the Ameri-
can bar. He labored assiduously and constantly to
accomplish the work, and in 1839 published two oc-
THE BAR OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
1J3
tavo volumes, which he presented " to his brethren j
and the world at large" for approval, and which re-
ceived commendation in the highest terms from Chief ]
Justice Story and Chaucellor Kent. From 1842 to j
3846 he produced a revised edition of the work, com-
prising ten royal octavo volumes. In 1848 he pub-
lished the third edition, in which many of the articles
were carefully revised and remodeled, and more than
twelve hundred others added. After his death it was
found that he had partially prepared a large amount
of additional and valuable material, and this was put
in the proper form by competent persons, and incor-
porated in the fourth edition, which was published in
1852. At the same time that he was engaged on the
" Dictionary," Mr. Bouvier commenced tlie prepara-
tion of another work, entitled " Institutes of Ameri-
can Law," which was completed in 1851. Both these
works have received the highest encomiums from the
bench and bar for the extensive research and legal
knowledge exhibited in their pages, and it is ac-
knowledged that they rank among the best contribu-
tions to the legal literature of the country.
Jacob B. Miller was the son of John Miller, a tan-
ner, and an early settler in Uniontown, where Jacob
was born on the 21st of February, 1799. He studied
law with Parker Campbell, in Washington, Pa., and
was admitted to the Fayette County bar in Novem-
ber, 1821. He was the founder of the Pennsylvania
Democrat (now the Standard), at Uniontown. He
served in the Legislature of Pennsylvania in the
years 1832 and 1833. A just estimate of the charac- i
ter and standing which he sustained as a lawyer and
a man during the many years of his life is summed
up in a resolution adopted by the Fayette County bar
at his death, viz. : " That we regarded Mr. Miller as I
a man of ripe scholarship and character, of earnest
convictions, and of rare independence. What he be- i
lieved to be the right he upheld, and what he be-
lieved to be wrong he opposed, regardless of conse- I
quences. Although a lifelong and active party man, '
when his party's action did not coincide with his own :
views it found in him a determined and able foe." j
Mr. Miller died Dec. 6, 1878, in the eightieth year of
his age.
James Todd, who was for almost half a century a
resident of Fayette County, and an able member of
its bar for many years during that period, was of
Scotch descent, and born in York County, Pa., Dec.
25, 1786. In the early part of 1787 his parents re- '
moved to Fayette County, where his mother died
during the same summer. His father survived her I
only a few months, but previous to his death in- ,
trusted his infant child to the care of Duncan Mc- <
Lean, a Scotchman and an elder in the Presbyterian j
Church. In this family he was reared, and became
an indentured apprentice. Until after the expiration ^
of his apprenticeship his education had been of the I
moat limited character, such only as could be afforded
by a year and a half of attendance at the common
schools in a neighborhood recently settled. Being
very desirous, however, of improving his education,
he availed himself of every opportunity that pre-
sented itself, reading such books as were to be found
in a new settlement, and studying late at night after
the completion of his day's labor. He joined a de-
bating society, and was so successful in their contests
and developed such ready powers in debate that hi.s
attention was directed to local politics and (eventu-
ally) to the study of law. In the fall of 1815 he was
appointed one of the county commissioners (to fill a
vacancy by death) of Fayette County, and was in
1816 elected for three years. While commissioner he
began the study of law with Judge John Bouvier.
Upon the expiration of his term as commissioner (in
1819) he was elected to the State Legislature, and
was afterwards re-elected for four additional succes-
sive terms, taking an active and leading part in its
proceedings. Having continued his studies with
Judge Bouvier four years, he was admitted to the bar
in Fayette County, Oct. 30, 1823. He met with im-
mediate success, which continued through his whole
professional career. In September, 1825, he was ap-
pointed by Governor Shultze prothonotary and clerk
of Fayette County, but having been an active Adams
man in 1828, and a zealous advocate of the election
of Governor Kitner in 1829, he was in February, 1830,
removed by Governor Wolf.
During his tenure of these offices his practice as a
lawyer was necessarily restricted to the adjoining coun-
ties of Somerset, Greene, and Washington. In De-
cember, 1835, he was appointed attorney-general of
the State by the late Governor Iiidur, and thereupon
removed to Philadelphia. This ]iii>iii(iii lie IkM until
early in 1S38. The same Governor a|ip(>iiited him
president judge of the Court of Criminal Sessions of
the city and county of Philadelphia, in which position
he remained until 1840, when the court was abolished
by the Legislature. He then resumed the practice of
the law in Philadelphia, and at once took a front
rank among the leaders of the bar.
He continued there until 1852, when failing health
and the death of a son (David) induced him to re-
move to Westmoreland County, where he continued
to reside, in the quiet and easy pursuit of his profes-
sion and of agriculture, until liis death, which oc-
curred on the 3d of September, 1863, in the seventy-
seventh year of his age. No better summary of the
life and character of Judge Todd can be given than
that embodied in the resolution offered by the Hon.
Edgar Cowan, and adopted at a meeting of the
Greensburg bar, on the occasion of his death, viz.:
"Resolved, That while we lament the death and- do
honor to the memory of Judge Todd, the example of
his life, so eminent for ability, integrity, and patriot-
ism, ought not to be lost to the young, but be held
up for encouragement and imitation. He was the
architect of his own fortunes, and, subsisting by his
labor, without the aid of schools or masters, he won
144
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
his way to the Legislature, to the bar, to the cabinet, j
and to the bench, acquitting himself in all with dis- \
tinction. He was also an ardent lover of his country, I
a temperate and just man, and a sincere Christian.
His years were as full as his honors, and extended [
almost to fourscore years." I
Joshua B. Howell was a native of New Jersey, and
pursued the study of the law in Philadelphia, where
he was admitted to the bar. In the latter part of
1827 he removed to Fayette County, and made his
residence in Uniontown, where he was admitted to the
bar Jan. 5, 1828. In 1831 he was appointed district
attorney by Attorney-General Samuel Douglass, and
served to and including the year 1833. He formed a
law partnership with Judge Thomas Irwin, and later
with Judge Nathaniel Ewing. Mr. Howell was a
careful and able lawyer, a man of fine address, a good
speaker, and very successful in his pleadings before
juries. In 18G1 he raised a regiment (mustered as the
Eighty-fifth Pennsylvania), and entered the service
as its colonel in the war of the Rebellion. He served
in command of the regiment until the 14th of Sep-
tember, 1864, when he was killed by a fall from his
horse, on the lines in front of Petersburg, Va.
Moses Hampton was an eminent lawyer, but only
a few years a resident of Fayette County. He was a
native of Beaver County, Pa., born Oct. 28, 1803. He
graduated at Washington College, and soon after re-
moved to I'niontown to accept a professorship in
Madison Cnllrjc at that place. He continued in that
positiMii foi- aliniit two yrars, during which time he
commenced the study of law in the office of John M.
Austin. In 1827 he married a daughter of John sill-
ier, and sister of Jacob B. Miller, of Uniontown. He
was admitted to the Fayette County bar in March,
1828, and in 1829 removed to Somerset County, where
he became associated in business with tlie Hon. Jere-
miah S. Black and Charles Ogle. In 1838 he removed
to Pittsburgh, which was his place of residence during
the remainder of his life. He was a member of the
Congress of the United States in 1847-49. In 18.53 he
was elected president judge of the court of Common
Pleas of Allegheny County. He died June 24, 1878.
James Veech was one of the most widely-known
and able lawyers of Fayette County or of Western
Pennsylvania. He was a native of this county,
bom near New Salem. Sept. 18, 1808. After gradu-
ating with tlir hiLrlio>t lii>nors at Jefferson College he
came to riiioiitowii. and liccame a law-student in the
office of Judge Todd. He was admitted to the bar in
October, 1831, and commenced practice in the Fay-
ette County courts, where by unswerving integrity
and close application to the business of his profession
he soon took rank among the leading practitioners of
that day. A just tribute to the admirable qualities of
Judge Veech, together with a brief sketch of some of
the leading events of his life, is found in the record
of the proceedings of a meeting of members of the
Pitt-burgli bar, convened upon the occasion of his
1879.
From that
death, which occurred Dec. 10,
record is taken the following, viz. :
" The departing year takes with it James Veech,
whose threescore years and ten are now closed, years
of labor, honor, and professional excellence. Before
he is committed to that narrow house appointed for
all living men let us pause and estimate his worth
and character, and make an enduring record of the
virtues that adorned his long life and gave him that
high place in the profession and the State to which
his ripe learning and unvarying integrity entitled
him.
" In stature, mental and physical, nature had marked
him as one born to brave the battle of life with un-
flagging courage and tireless industry, and to secure
a triumph not more honorable to himself than useful
in good deeds to his fellow-men. He graduated at
Jefferson College, being the youngest member of his
class, and acquired an education which in subsequent
years he greatly improved, keeping up his study of
the classics during his professional labors and be-
coming familiar with the standard Greek and Latin
authors. There were with him at college many who
have risen to places of honor and usefulness, and, like
him, added to its long roll of distinguished men.
" After leaving college he went to Uniontown, Pa.,
and in 1829 began reading law under the direction of
the late Judge Todd, who was then one of the promi-
nent lawyers of the western part of the State. In
October, 1831, he was admitted to the bar, and began
a career which has shed lustre on his name and his
profession. There were then in full practice Andrew
Stewart, John M. Austin, John Dawson, of Fayette
County, now all gone. Thomas M. T. McKennan and
Thomas McGuffie appeared among its members at
times, — men whose reputations are yet fresh in the
recollection of many persons now living. Surrounded
by such men, and inspired by their influence, Mr. Veech
became an ardent student in the true meaning of the
term, and read and loved the common law, because it
laid open to his view the foundations of those great
principles upon which the most sacred rights of per-
sons and property rest.
"After some years of constant and continued ap-
plication to his professional duties, he was appointed
deputy district attorney of Allegheny County by
James Todd, the attorney-general, and removed
1 to Pittsburgh. In tiiis new sphere he faithfully
and creditably discharged all its duties, and by his
1 learning and honorable deportment advanced still
higher liis professional reputation. He resided in
1 Pittsburgh for several years, but was compelled by
failing health to remove to Uniontown. There he re-
mained until 1862, becoming the leader of the bar,
enjoying the fruits of a lucrative practice, and rising
i to a degree of excellence in his profession which the
ambition of any man might prompt him to attain.
He prepared his cases with great care, and tried them
with a degree of power which few men possess.
THE BAK OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
14!:
"His manner before a jury was not engaging, nor
his voice pleasant, but the strength and directness of
his logic and the cogent earnestness with which he
made his pleas covered all such defects. His strong
common sense and good judgment carried his case, if
it could be won, and Fayette County juries attested
his abilities by not often going against him. His
arguments in the Supreme Court were clear, well di-
gested, and forcibly presented.
" He trusted to decided cases, and was not inclined
to leave the well-worn ways of the law, or distrust
the security of those principles upon which are based
its most sacred rights. He looked upon a reformer as
a trifier with long settled questions, battering down,
without the ability to erect, a portion of the temple
of justice itself.
'•■ In 1862 he returned to Pittsburgh, and again com-
menced to practice, and continued an arduous and
able following of his profession until 1872. His suc-
cess at the bar was rapid, and his business of a cliarac-
ter that required great care and constant labor. He
took rank as an able, reliable, and formidable lawyer,
and found his reward in the confidence bestowed by a
large circle of leading business men in the manage-
ment of their important cases. As a counselor, he
was cautious and safe, and he so thoroughly studied
the facts upon which an opinion was to be given that
he reached his conclusions slowly, but with a degree of
mature thought that made them valuable. Although
pressed with business, he found leisure, however, to in-
dulge a taste he acquired early in life for studying the
history of the first settlement of this country around
us. No man in Western Pennsylvania has more pa-
tiently and accurately collected the names of the
hardy pioneers who came to the western slope of the
Alieghenies, and with rifle and axe penetrated the
dense forests that then lay along the Monongahela
and its tributaries. Every spot memorable in the
French and Indian war was known to him. He col-
lected many valuable manuscripts of men like Albert
Gallatin on subjects of State and national importance,
gathered information from all quarters of historical
value, and intended to publish them, but the work was
never done.
" His contributions in pamphlet form on many sub-
jects of local interest were read with great interest,
and will be useful to the historian who may seek to
place in durable shape what occurred at an early day
in the settlement of Western Pennsylvania.
" In 1872 he retired from practice after a life spent
in exacting labor, to find relief from the cares of pro-
fessional duties in the happiness of a home to which
he was deeply attached. In it he enjoyed the com-
panionship of his friends, to whom he was warmly
attached, and dispensed his hospitality with a genial
nature, which made intercourse with him both pleas-
ant and instructive. Up to the very hour of his death
his mental faculties were unimpaired, and his spirits
full of almost the fervor of his youth. He died at
his home on the Ohio below Pittsburgh, surrounded
by all that was dear to him on earth."
Robert P. Flennikin was a law-student in the ottice
of Andrew Stewart, at Uniontown, and admitted to the
bar in October, 1831. He practiced his profession for
a number of years in Fayette County, of which bar
he became a leading member. He was also an influen-
tial citizen and a prominent politician. He served
three terms in the Pennsylvania Legislature, com-
mencing in 1841. In 1845 he was appointed minister
to Denmark by President Polk, and he was made
Governor of the Territory of Utah by President Bu-
chanan. In 1872 he retired from active pursuits, and
removed to San Francisco, Cal., where his son Robert
was a successful merchant. Another son of his is
J. W. Flennikin, and Mrs. Thomas B. Searight, of
Uniontown, was his only daugliter. He was an uncle
by marriage to the late Col. Samuel W. Black, and
brother-in-law of Judge Thomas Irwin. Mr. Flenni-
kin was born in Greene County, Pa., and died in
San Francisco in October, 1879, aged seventy-five
years.
Alfred Patterson, at one time a school-teacher in
Uniontown, was admitted a member of the Fayette
County bar in October, 1831, and soon secured a large
and lucrative practice. Close, knotty points in law
and intricate matters pertaining to land titles were his
specialties. He was an easy, plausible speaker and
a good and successful lawyer. About 1870 he re-
moved from Uniontown to Pittsburgh, where he de-
voted his time to tTie care of his property, and to the
duties of his position as president of the Bank of Com-
merce. He died in December, 1878, while on a visit
to his daughter in Louisiana.
John L. Dawson was born Feb. 7, 1813, in Union-
town, but removed very early in life to Brownsville,
which was his place of residence during the greater
part of his subsequent life. He received his educa-
tion at Washington College, and soon after his grad-
uation at that institution entered the office of his
uncle, John Dawson, at Uniontown, as a law-student.
He was admitted to the bar of Fayette in September,
1835, and at once commenced practice. He was a
good attorney, but soon entered political life, and be-
came much more prominent in that field than in the
practice of his profession. In 1838 he was appointed
deputy attorney-general of Fayette County, and in
1845 United States District Attorney for Western
Pennsylvania, under President Polk. He was elected
to Congress in 1850, re-elected in 1852, again elected
in 1862, and re-elected in 1864. At the close of the
latter term (1867) he left public life and retired to
the estate known as Friendship Hill (the former resi-
dence of Albert Gallatin), where he passed the re-
mainder of his life, and died Sept. 18, 1870. A more
extended biographical notice of Mr. Dawson will be
given in the history of Brownsville.
Thomas B. Davidson was a son of William David-
son, of Connellsville. He was educated at Kciiycn
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
College, Ohio, and soon after graduation became a
hnv-student in the office of Robert P. Flennikin, of
L'niontown. He was admitted to the bar in January,
]S38. He located in Cnnnellsville, and continued in
the practice of his profession until his death, though
he was also engaged extensively in other business.
He was one of the prominent members of 'the Fayette
bar, and was regarded as one of the best counselors
in Western Pennsylvania. He was also an active
and energetic politician, but would never accept a
public appointment, nor consent to become a candi-
date for office. The date of his death has not been
ascertained.
Samuel A. Gilmore was born in 180G in Butler
County, Pa., where he was admitted to the bar, and
continued as a practirinii- lawyer until his appoint-
ment as presiilciit ju'Iltc of the Fourteenth Judicial
District, in February, 1848, when he removed to
Uniontown. Under the change of constitution he
was elected to the same office in 1851, and served on
the bench until the December term of 18C1. He was
again elected in October, ISii'i.and continued in office
until his death, May 15, 1873. On that occasion a
meeting of members of the Fayette County bar was
lield, at which the following resolutions were unani-
nKKwly adopted, viz. :
" 1st. That after more than twenty years' service on
the bi.iitli, .liidiie Gilmore lays down his important
trust uu^usjHM'teil that it has on any occasion been
vi(dated, and leaving an excellent reputation for legal
and general learning, for sterling integrity as man |
and judge, for strict impartiality in the discharge of
liis official duties, for patriotism as a citizen, as a
hater of wrong and sympathizer with the weak, and
as a firm believer in and an earnest promoter of the
Christian religion.
"2d. That as a judge it was always his prime
object to ascertain the right of any matter tried be-
fore him, and having learned this, it was an intlexilile
rule of law indeed which could ]jrevi_-nt him I'mm '
seeing that justice and equity was done."
An event which occurred in the year 1835, the
striking of the names of a number of prominent •
members of the Imr ol' Fayette County from the roll
of attorneys, should not l.r (unittcd in tliis connection.
There had been for a long time fn'.|iicnt and ever-
recurring disagreements and misundrr>t:indiii--. Ke-
tween the attorneys in question and ihr Ib.n. I li..i,ias
H. Baird, then president jud-X' <iC the di^lii.t. This
state of affairs finally ciihiiiiiati'd in an open niplui'e,
the first act in which w;is .liidL'- I'.aiid s addns^ng to
the recusant lawyers the following communication:
"I'>klay, Sept. 1'2, ls.14.
" Gextlemex,— You liave, no doubt, long been
aware that the occurrence of a variety of disagree-
able circumstances in the conduct of our business in
court has rendered my situation often exceedingly
painful and perplexing. It is possible I have had my
full share in the causes which have led to this state of
things. I think, however, upon reflection, you will
be satisfied that in a great degree it has been owing
to the irregular manner of the bar in the trial of
causes. It is unnecessary to go into particulars. It
has been the subject of complaint and of conflict, dis-
tressing to me and unpleasant to you. Finding a
remedy hopeless without your aid, I have frequently
brought my mind to the conclusion that perhaps I
ought to withdraw and give you the opportunity of
getting in my room some other gentleman who would
have your confidence and co-operation. This deter-
mination has heretofore been yielded to the advice of
friends, upon whose judgment I have relied.
"Early in the present week I requested an inter-
view with you, that we might talk these matters over,
and perhaps agree to a united effort for reform. You
were prevented from meeting as proposed. In the
mean time the occurrence of a brutal attack upon me
by a ruffian, growing out of a trial in court, has more
and more convinced me of the necessity of coming to
some conclusion that may prevent the repetition of
such outrages. On this subject I wish not to be mis-
understood. The act of a brute or bully can never
drive me from the post of duty or of honor. I thank
God that in the performance of my official functions
I have been preserved from the operation of fear, as
I hope I have been from the influence of favor or
afl!'ection. I never, I repeat, have been deterred by
any apprehension of personal danger, although I
have often been aware of peril. I have known that
there was cause for it. The inadvertent, but as I
think indiscreet, indulgence of side-bar remarks, in-
dicative of dissatisfaction with the decisions of the
court, and perhaps sometimes of contempt, has been
calculated to make a lodgment in the public mind inju-
rious to the authority and respectability of the court,
and particularly of myself as its organ, and has had a
direct tendency to rouse the malignant passions of a
disappointed or defeated party. I have often ob-
served or been informed of these things, and have
thought they might lead to disastrous consequences.
A correct, judicious man, if he thinks his case has
not been correctly decided, will seek redress in the
legitimate mode only, or, if that is not accessible
(which seldom happens), will submit to it, as we all
do to unavoidable misfortunes. A ruffian, however,
if told by his counsel that injustice has been done
him in the administration of the law, may feel dis-
posed to seek vengeance on the judge. In the case re-
ferred to I think the cause and effect can be distinctly
traced. The earnestness and positivene.?s of the coun-
sel on the trial, and e.xpressions thoughtlessly dropped
afterwards, perhaps inflamed an. unprincipled fellow
to make an attack.
" It may be, however, that it would not have occa-
sioned it had he not been encouraged by other per-
sons. I have only my suspicions, and make no
charge against any one. I exculpate the counsel in
THE BAR OF FAYETTP3 COUNTY.
that case, and I exculpate the whole bar from the
most distant idea of producing such a catastrophe.
All that I mean to say is that the practice I have
mentioned has a direct tendency to incite to such out-
rages, and that in the particular case (in connection
with other causes) it did lead to the violence.
" The same cause may produce the same effect. I
must be always e.xposed to such consequences if mat-
ter of excitement continues to be furnished to wrong-
headed brutal suitors. If I could have the confi-
dence and support of the bar, and the assurance of a
change in their manner towards each other and to-
wards the court in the public conduct of business,
the office I hold would be rendered dignified, honor-
able, and pleasant, but otherwise it must become alto-
gether intolerable. On my part there is no want of
good feeling, and I take this occiision to declare that
there is not one of you for whom I entertain unkind
sentiments. On the contrary, there is no one whose
interests I would not advance, or whose honour I
would not maintain so far as in my power. As to
myself, I have no right to claim your friendship,
though I should be glad to have it ; but I think, in
the discharge of my official duties, I ought to have
your courtesy and respect, and when I err, forbear-
ance in manner and recourse discreetly to the proper
remedy (which I am always disposed to facilitate),
and not to inflammatory expressions of disapproba-
tion or contempt addressed to the public or the party.
" I have thus disclosed to you frankly my feelings
and views. In reply I wish your sentiments and deter-
mination as to the future in relation to the grievances
I have presented, and propose, therefore, that you
should take a few minutes to confer together, and in-
form me of the conclusion to which you may arrive.
"I am truly yours,
" Thos. H. Baird.
" Messes. Ewixg, Todd, Dawsox, and the other
GENTLEMEN OF THE BAR OF FaYETTE CoUNTY
PRESENT."
To this communication the gentlemen addressed
made the following reply :
" U.MO.NTOwx, Pa., Oct. 3, 1S34.
" Dear Sir, — We have delayed replying to your
letter under date of the 12th of September, 1834, ad-
dressed to the members of the bar of Fayette County,
until the present time, to afford an opportunity for con-
sulting together, and also for mature reflection upon
the matters to which you refer. We regret, in com-
mon with your Honour, that we have not been able, in
harmony and with satisf^iction to ourselves and the
people of the county, to transact the business of our
courts. The public confidence seems to be withdrawn
alike from the bar and the court. Perhaps your
Honour's retiring from the bench, as you have inti-
mated a willingness so to do, and giving the people
the power to select another would be the means of
producing a better state of things and a more cordial
co-operation from all sides in the dispatch of the
business of the county. This expression of our views
is made in candour and sincerity, without a wish to
inspire one unpleasant thought or unkind feeling, but
under a sense of duty to the county in wtich we live,
to your Honour and to ourselves.
" Very respectfully yours, etc.,
"JoHx M.Austin, A.Patterson,
" John Dawson, E. P. Flenniken,
" Joshua B. Howell, R. G. Hopwood,
"J. H. Deford, Wm. McDonald,
" J. Williams, W. P. Wells.
"To Thomas H. Baird, Esq., Williamspoet,
Washington Co."
At the next succeeding term of the Court of Com-
mon Pleas, held Jan. 6, 1835, before Judge Baird and
his associates, Charles Porter and Samuel Nixon, the
following action was taken, as is shown by the record,
viz. :
"The Court grant ,i rule upon John M. Austin, John Dawson,
Joshua B. Uowcll, John II. Defovd, Joseph Willinnis, Alfred Pat-
terson, Robert P. Flenniken, Rice G. Hopwood, William Mc-
Donald, and William P. Wells, Esquires, to show cause why they
should not be stricken from the list of Attorneys of this court."
To this rule the respondents made answer as fol-
lows :
" Tlie undersigned, who are required by a rule of
court, entered this day, to show cause why they should
not be stricken from the list of attorneys, present this
their answer to that rule. AVe earnestly but respect-
fully protest against the legal iinwer and authority of
the court to enter aii'l riil'Mnc such a rule for the cause
alleged. The rule apjuars to lie iounded and predi-
cated on the letter of the undersigned, addressed to
Judge Baird, dated Oct. 3, 1834. To enable a full
understanding of the whole matter a letter of Judge
Baird, dated Sept. 12, 1834, is herewith presented. It
is evident that the letter of the undersigned which
contains the offensive nuitter is a reply and response
to the letter of Judge Baird to them addressed. It is
certainly respectful in its terms, and, as is sincerely
believed and positively asserted, contains neither in
words, meaning, nor intention the slightest contempt
or the least disrespect to the court or any of its mem-
bers.
" The respondents would be entirely at a loss to
comprehend how it could be possible to give their let-
ter, from its terms, an offensive interpretation were
they not informed from another source that the fol-
lowing paragraph is considered objectionable: 'The
public ciinlidiin-rseenis to Vjc withdrawn alike from the
bar an'l tlie Cmnt.' We by this paragraph expressed
our honest eon vietioH, and intended no contempt to the
Court. It is a response in some measure to that part
of Judge Baird's letter in which he himself says that
the circumstances to which he refers were calculated
to make a lodgment in the public mind injurious to
Ui
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
the authority and respectability of the Court, and par-
ticularly of himself, its organ.
" It will also be perceived from the two letters re-
ferred to that the correspondence did not take place
between the bar and the court; it was between the
respondents and Judge Baird, at his instance and re-
quest. The occurrence asserted as constituting some
undefined offense did not take place in presence of
the Court ; it took place out of Court and in pais.
" Far, very f:ir, therefore, are we from being guilty
of any offense against the Court. As to Judge Baird
personally, the letter distinctly and unequivocally
states tliat (lur views were ' made in candour and sin-
cerity, withdiit a wish to inspire one unpleasant thought
or unkind feeling.'
" John M. Austin, J. H. Defoed,
"John- Daw.sox, Wm. McDonald,
" Joshua B. Howell, J. William.?,
" Wm. B. Wells, R. P. Flexxikix,
'• Alfred Patteesox, Rice G. Hopwood."
The above answer was supplemented by the follow-
ing, dated Jan. 7, 1835, and signed by the same at-
torneys, except McDonald and Hopwood, viz. :
" The undersigned, after reiterating the protest con-
tained in a former answer, make this further reply to
the rule entered yesterday against them. When the
former answer was prepared it was not known that
the publication of the correspondence between the
bar and Judge Baird in the newspapers constituted a
portion of the supposed offense against the court, the
record not presenting that aspect of the case.
" They now reply to this matter, and to cause a
more perfect understanding thereof they present here-
with a letter from Judge Baird to the undersigned,
dated Dec. 15, 1834.' We now ask that the three let-
tors on record may be carefully examined in connec-
tion with our former answer to the rule to show cause.
We ca'-iRiit liut think that the court will then be satis-
fied that the last letter of Judge Baird contains im-
putations and strictures not warranted by anything
said in our communication to him when properly
understood.
" In some way the existence of the controversy
1 Tlie letter of Jii(lj:e Bftii-rl, here referred to, concluded as follows :
from the honest
good fidelity
• Til. 11. I'.UUD."
reached the public ear. It immediately assumed a
false shape in connection with an assault committed
upon the judge by a suitor in court. Misapprehen-
sion about the nature of the correspondence was pro-
duced. For want of correct information false asser-
tions were made and false inferences drawn. It
became a public matter, involving seriously public
interests. The correspondence related to public
affairs. The letters by no means being private and
confidential, we considered it our imperative duty, in
ju-stice to ourselves and in justice to the public, to
lay the whole correspondence as it really was before
the whole community. It was accordingly done, and
for the purposes intimated. The court will clearly
perceive that in this act there was no offense com-
mitted against the court, but it was a proceeding ren-
dered every way necessary, as it gave the true state
of the controversy and supplied the place of false
rumors in relation both to Judge Baird and our-
selves."
William McDonald made a separate answer to the
court January 7th. On the next day Judge Baird
delivered the opinion of the court (Judge Samuel
Nixon dissenting), the material part of which is here
given :
'■Jan. S, ISiio.
'• The oouit lins given to the pnpers presented by tlic respon-
dents in this case the most ciireful eonsider.ition and the most
favorable construclion their import would at nil admit. It ia
with the deepest regret, wo arc constrained to say, that they
are by no means satisfactory. ATc cannot regard them as re-
moving the offensive and injurious operation of the matter
which has been published to the world in relation to this court,
and which forms the gravamen of the rule. All that wo have
required is that the gentlemen would distinctly place in their
answer a disavowal of any intention to impute to the court, or
its members, anything which would lower them (in their oflieial
character) in the esteem and confidence of the people. This
has been and is still refused. No alternative therefore remains.
We must abandon our judicial honor, respectability, and au-
thority, or endeavor to sustain them in what we conceive to bo
the legitimate mode. ... It is ordered that the names of John
M. Austin, John Dawson, Joshua B. Howell, Wm. P. Wells,
Alfred Patterson, John II. Deford, J. Williams, and R. P.
Flennikcn be struck from the list of attorneys of this court.
■ " In the case of William McDonald the rule is discharged.
In the case of Rice 6. Hopwood the rule is continued.''
The next day (January 9th) Rice G. Hopwood
made a separate answer, and the court discharged the
rule in this case.
Eight members of the bar of Fayette County then
stood suspended from court. These gentlemen pre-
sented their case to the Legislature of the State, and
on the 14th of March, 1835, an act was passed, by the
provisions of which the Supreme Court of Pennsyl-
vania was " authorized and required to take jurisdic-
tion of a certain record and proceedings in the Court
of Common Pleas of the county of Fayette, of the
term of January, 1835, whereby the names of eight
attorneys were, on the 8th day of January, 1835, or-
FAYETTE CIVIL LIST.
14a
dcred to be struck from the list of attorneys of the
8;iid court; and during their session commencing at
the city of Philadelphia on Monday, the 16th of
March, 1835, proceed to hear and determine the
questions arising upon the said record and proceed-
ings in any shape which may be approved or pre-
scribed by the court ; and shall cause the decision of
the said Supreme Court to be duly certified to the
Court of Common Pleas in the county of Fayette,
and make all orders and direct all measures which
may be necessary and proper and which shall be
effectual in the premises."'
The rule of the court, answers of respondents, and
letters of Judge Baird were presented to the Supreme
Court, in session at Philadelphia^ March 31, 1835.
The eight gentlemen whose names had been stricken
from the roll appeared by their attorneys, who pre-
sented the following bill of exceptions :
'•FIrsi. The Court of Common Pleas of Fayette County erred
in consiilcring the saiil attorneys as the authors of a letter to tl}C
Hon. T. H. Baird, under date of 3d October, 1S34, liable to the
penalty of being struck from the roll for an alleged libel upon
the court.
"Second. The court below erred in considering that by the
writing or publishing of the said letter the said attorneys did
'misbehave themselves in their offices of attorneys' respec-
tively.
" Third. The court below erred in considering that by the
■writing or publishing of said Utter the attorneys had dep.-irted
from their obligation to behave themselves in the office of at-
torney within the court according to the best of tlicir learning
or ability, and with all good fidelity as well to the court as to
" Fnu'ih. The order of the court below that the names of
the .Slid attorneys be struck from Ihc list is unconstitutional,
illegal, and oppressive, and the same should be forthv\ith re-
versed and annulled."
Messrs. Dallas and Ingersoll were the attorneys for
the gentlemen of the bar, and J. Sergeant for the
proceedings of the Court of Common Pleas of Fay-
ette County. Lengthy arguments were made. After
due deliberation the opinion of the court was de-
livered by Cliief Justice C. J. Gibson, who thus an-
nounced its decision :
" In conclusion it appears that a case to justify the removal
of the respondents has not been made out, .and it is therefore
considered that the order which made the rule absolute bo
vacated and the rule discharged, that the respondents be re-
stored to the bar, and that this decree bj certified to the Com-
mon Pleas of Fayette County."
" Decreed accordingly."
FAYETTE CIVIL LIST.
In this list the names are given of persons who
have held county offices, and also of those, resident
in Fayette County, who have held important offices
in or under the State or national government.
Robert Orr,' appointed 17S4.
.lames Hammond, appointed Nov. 21, 17S6.
Joseph Torrencc, .appointed Oct. 25, 1787; :
30, 1-S9.
Josrph Huston, nppointO'l Nov. It, 17'J0.
James Paull, appointed ITa.'S.
Thon.as Collins, appointed Nov. 1, 179G.
Abraham Stewart, appointed Oct. 26, 1799.
James Allen, appointed Oct. 2S, 1302.
Piorson Sayres, appointed 1 803.
Jacob Ilarbaugh, appointed ISOS.
Andrew Byers, appointed Nov. 7, ISll.
Morris Morris, appointed Nos-. 17, ISU.
John AVithrow, appointed Oct. 29, 1817.
Daniel P. Lynch, appointed 1820.
George Croft, appointed 1823.
William Sailors, appointed Oct. 30, 182G.
John A. Sangston, appointed Oct. 22, 1829.
Gideon Johns, appointed Oct. 22, 1832.
Matthew Allen, appointed Nov. 11, 1835.
George Meason, appointed Oct. 20. 1838.
William Morris, elected Oct. II, 1841.
Wesley Frost, elected Oct. 8, 1S44.
William Snyder, elected Oct. 12, 1847.
Matthew Allen, elicted Oct. 8, 1850.
James McBride, elected Oct. 11, 1853.
Samuel W. Boyd, elected Oct. 14, 185C.
Eli Cope, elected Oct. 11, 1S59.
Thomas Brownficld, elected Oct. 14, 1862.
Samuel W. Boyd, elected Oct. 10, 1805.
David L. Walker, elected Oct. 13, 1S6S.
Isaac Messmore, elected Oct. 10, 1871.
Calvin Springer, elected Nov. 3, 1874.
Edward Dean, elected Nov. fi, 1S77.
James II. Hoover, elected Nov. 2, 18S0.
^ For more than three years afier Fayette Itecanie a separate connt^'
it reniaineil unJer the jiMisdiction ..f the sherilTof Westinoreland. lief-
crence to this, .is well ,is to tin- fact Unit tlie ..ilior n.unty offices wore at
first hclil in coinmon with Wi.-t,ii n -I,,-!, H I .luid in the fullowir.g
iften \'\- l>i.: , M, I..H..!^^,s to PresiJi-nt John
" U.vioxTOw.N, February 2, 1784
nception of tlie law for diviilinj; We
atficer uf any kiiirl except such as wi
, Westmoreland.'
ulflic ill this as liefore the dii
crformance of it in this coun
belief voted for tliein
; Tonx, lltli July, 1784.
. p.lge 101. Case of Au
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Ej.hi
aim Dougla",! n|i[iuiiitcd Oct. G, 17S3: resigned Deecn
ici, I'SOS.
\rd 'Wiliiara Lane, ai.pointcd Jan. 1, 1 ''09.
St. Clair, a|ppomted Apnl 6, ISIS; Feb. 12, 1S2I.
B. Treioi, ammintcd January, 1822.
las jMcKibben, a]i|niinted May 12, lb24.
s T.«M, ..i.|...iutc.l .S(.|.t ..(I, lh25, Dec. 2, lb2G.
> M. lice-..,,, ..i.iH.iiitcd Tcb i. is 111, .Tan. 2J, 1S33.
14, 1845
lot. 14, 1
iiid llu-kins, eleitcd iict. 1
crt T. (J ill.ivvay, elected Oct. 10, lso4.
mas 1!. Se .right, elected Oct. 1.3, 1857; Oct. 9, ISOO.
ige W. Litm.in, elected Oct. I ■ IM'. ■ n, t 'i I^i.c,.
1 K. McDiinald, elected Oct 1 l-i i ii i s is7j.
idi M. Ogle\ce, elected \..i. -' Is" \ i ., l^rs.
aias B. Seaiight, elected Xi.Mii.li, i, Issl
CouNTv Commissioners.
.— Zacharinh Connell. Joseph CaMvvell. Thomas Caddis
'.— Jauics riiilvy, Jan..- IIa..jii,.,nd. Thomas Gaddis.
t. Xathaniel
, Thomas Co:
t?, Caleb JIu
1798.
-John
Fi.ltou
James Allen
C.ile
1 Mo,
.t.
1799.
-John
Fulton
Jesse Beesoi
. Jail
es Wi
1800.
-Jesse
IJeeson
John Fullo.
. Am
■ew
ipha.it.
ISOI.
-Jesse
EecMi.
, An.he.v Oli
ihaut
Mo.',
s Mor,
j.
1S02.
-Morr
s M.ir.
s, Willia.n li
jwnai
1, Gc
.-ge De
,rlh.
180.3.
— Willi
... lli.>
na.-.i. .Mi.r.i.
-Morr
s. Da
id How
arJ.
1804.
—Willi
,n Ilo.
nai.1, David
Io»a
a. J.i
.n Mill
,..
1.S0.5.
— Diivh
Howa
■d, John iMill
r. Ja
ucs C
,„pbell
180G.
-John
Miller,
James C....ip
lell. J
jhn S
1807.
1808.
-Jame
—John
C;....p
-Jh.eve
M'll, Ji.l.n SI.
Ja^pei- Wh..
■w. .
Ji.;,..
Whetst
r, iberr
,ne.
1809.
-Jaspc
■ Wlii-I
tiim-. Jnhn I
ilir.t
, Alio
Ca..ipl
1810.
-John
liobcit
s, Abel Cainpl
ell, M
.Ilia..
Cuii..ii
gham.
1811.
-Abel Campbell, Willia.n C
unnin
gha.„
J.ilin C
la.-k.
iTl
e follow
ig men
orial of Krhra
m Do
glass.
.piilicatiul
for III
aMi .0.1
fii.....lin Peiiji.
ylvaiii
I Aid,
ves, X. 1
IS:
"T.
III. H.ii
iral h-
Ii.' S.ipi-eme E.vecutiv
e Coun
cil of the Cumraon-
" PniLlDEl.PIin, 2a October, 1783.
51.'. Duiiglass reeeivca the apiioi
"Enin-viM Douglass.
.against W,lliam McCleer
—William Cunningham, John Clark, Thomas Boyd.
—John Clark, Thomas Boyd, Morris Morris.
-Thomas Boyd, George Craft, Harris AV. Colton.
—Harris W. Colton, John Sparks, Amos Coojier.
-17. — Amos Cooper, William Hart, James Todd.
—William Hart, James T.3dd, Griffith Roberts.
—James Todd, Griffith Roberts, Moses Vance.
— Griffith Roberts, Moses Vance, Isaac Core.
— Moses Vance, Isaac Core, Andrew Moore.
— Isaac Core, Andtew Moore, Abner Greenland.
—Andrew Moore, Abner Greenland, Robert Boyd.
— Abner Greenland, Robert Boyd, Nathaniel Mitchell.
—Robert Boyd, Nathaniel Mitchell, Jesse T.aylor.
— Nathaniel Mitchell, Jesse Tayloi-, Abner Greenland.
—Jesse Taylor, Abner Greenland, Hugh Espey, Jr.
—Abner Greenland, Hugh Espey, Jr., Robert Patterson.
-30.— Hugh Espey, Jr., Robert Patterson, James Adair.
— Hugh Espej', Jr., James Adair, Andi-cw Hertzog.
— Andrew Hei-tzog. Hugh I'^spey, Jr., James H. Patterson.
— James II. Patterson, Andrew Hertzog, James Adair.
—James Aihiii-, James H. Patterson, Peter Stentz.
— Peter Stentz, James Adair. Joseph Gadd.
— Joseph Gadd, Isa.ac L. Hunt, Robert Long.
—Isaac L. Hunt, Robert Long, E. P. Oliphant.
-Robert Long, E. P. Oliphant, John W. Pliillips.
—John AV. Phillips, Squire Ayres, Jesse Ant,im.
—Squire Ayres, Jesse Antrim, James Allison.
—Jesse Antrim, James Allison, Thomas McMillan.
—James Allison. Thomas McMillan, Hugh Espey.
-Thomas McMillan, Hugh Espey, Thomas Duncan.
— lli.-l. K-p.y. Thomas Duncan, Robert Bleakley.
— I'liiiina- liuiiian, Robert Bleakley, P. F. Gibbons.
— Uniii II lil.akli'y, P. F. Gibbons, Leo Tiitc.
— P. F. Gibbons, Leo Tate, H. D. Overholt.
—Lee Tate, H. D. Overholt, William Crawfoid.
— H. D. Overholt, William Crawford, John Bcatty.
—William Crawford, John Realty, Jacob llaldcman.
—John Bcatty, Jacob llaldcman, Jacob Wolf.
— Jacob Ilaldeman, Jacob Wolf, Joseph Cunningham.
—Jacob Wolf, Joseph Cunningham, Mark R. Moore.
—Joseph Cunningham, Mark R. Moore, David Deyarmon.
— Mark R. Mooie, David Deyarmon, Jacob F. Long.i-
18jG.— David Deyarmon, Jacob F. Longanackcr, Tho.nas
Brownfield.
1857.- Jacob F. Longanacker, Thomas Brownfield, John V.
Reese.
1S5S.— Thomas Brownfield, John V. Reese, W. K. Gallabe,-.
1869.— John V. Reese, W. K. Gallaher, Robert McDowell.
18G0.— W. K. Gallaher, Robert McDowell, John Schnattcrly.
I8GI.— Robert McDowell, John Schnattcrly, George A. Nolan.
1SG2.— Jolin Schnatterly, George A. Nolan, Samuel Shipley.
1SG3.— George A. Nolan, Samuel Shipley, William Jones.
18G4.— Samuel Shipley, William Jones, II. Humphreys.
ISGj.— William Jones, H. Humphreys, Wm. L. Smith.
ISGG.— H. Humphreys, Wm. L. Smith, G. Roberts.
1SG7.— AVm. L. Smith, G. Roberts, John Brooks.
18GS.— G. Roberts, John Bi-ooks, David H. Wakefield.
1SG9.— John Brooks, David H. AFakefield, James Snyder.
1870.— David H. Wakefield, J.ames Snyder, C. S. Sherrick.
1S71.— James Snyder, C. S. Sherrick, David Newcomer.
1S72.— C. S. Sherrick. David Newcomer, Robert Hagen.
1873.— David Newcomer, Robert Hagen, Isaac Hurst.
1874. — Robert Hagen, Isaac Hurst, Jesse Reed.
1875.— Isaac llui'st, Jesse Reed, James Cunningham.
1878.— Geo.-ge W. .Shaw, Thomas Hazen, Hugh L. Rankin.
FAYETTE CIVIL LIST.
Clerks of the Board of Commissioners.
Joseph Trevor, Jan. G, 1S21.
Henry W. Beeson, Jan. 19,
1821.
Richard Bceson, Jan. 20, 1823.
J. B. Miller, Oct. 23, 1826.
William Gregg, Nov. 4, 1S27.
James Piper, March 4, 1828.
Joseph Giidd, Oct. 23, 1S3S.
Rich. Ilusliins, Nov. 16, 1842.
Alex. MoClean, Dec. 1, 1S4S.
Joseph Gadd, Jan. 1, 1S5B.
Geo. Morrison, Aug. 27, 1858.
F. Reynolds, Nov. 16, 1863.
L. P. Norton, April 3, 1866.
Geo. Morrison, Jan. 1, 1874.
John Ward, April 21, 1797.
Morris Morris, J.in. 12. 1798.
Samuel Milhous, Jr., Jan. 23,
1799.
Charles Porter, Jr., Jan. 20,
ISOO.
Thos. Mcason, Nov. 25, 1801.
A. Oliphanf, March 15, 1802.
Thos. Meason, April 30, 1802.
Jesse Beeson, Nov. 23, 1802.
Morris Morris, April 25, 1808.
John Roberts, Oct. 23, 1811.
Joshua Hart, Oct. 18, 1816.
Isaac Core, Dec. 23, ISIG.
Bcnj. Barton, Oct. 18, 1819.
County Treasurkrs."
Ephrnim Douglas, appointed Oct. 13, 1784.
James Allen, appoinled 1800: Jan. 22, 1801 ; 1802.
Christian T.arr, appointed Feb. 3, 1803; 1804.
Dennis Springer, apjiointed Nov. 26, 1804.
William Broivnrield, appointed Jan. 9; 1SU8.
Morris Morris, appointed Jan. 6, 1814.
Jesse Beeson, appointed Dec. -9, 1814.
Thomas Ilnddon, appointed Jan. 2, 1818.
Dennis Springer, appointed Jan. 1, 1821.
Joshua Hart, appointed Dec. 22, 1822.
James Boyle, appointed Jan. 2, 1826.
Alfred Meason, appointed January 1, 1829.
George Meason, appointed Aug. 24, 1831.
AVilliam Crawford, appointed Jan. 2, 1835.
James F. Cannon, appointed Jan. 1, 1838.
John F. Foster, appointed Jan. 1, 1839.
William B. Roberts, elected Oct. 8, 1839.
Hiram Seaton, elected Oct. 10, 1843; rc-eleeted Oc-t. 1
Nathaniel Mitchell, elected Oct. 12, 1847; re-elected
1849.
Hugh Espcy, appointed Nov. 5, 1850; elected Oct. 14,
Dennis Sutton,
4, 1845.
Oct, 9,
ippo
nted Feb. 28, 1852.
Joseph L. Wylie, elected Oct. 11, 1853.
William Bradraan, elected Oct. 9, 1855.
Jacob Crow, elected Oct. 13, 1857.
Isaac Hurst, elected Oct. 11, 1859.
John Tiernan, elected Oct. S, 1861 ; re-elected Oct. 1.3, 186;
AVilliam Darlington, elected Oct. 10, 1865.
William S. Strickler, elected Oct. 8, 1867.
Richard Campbell, elected Oct. 12, 1869.
John S. Roberts, elected Oct. 10, 1871.
James McDonald, elected Oct. 14, 1873.
Justus Dean, appointed to fill vacancy.
Christian Aries, elected Nov. 4, 1875.
Michael W. Franks, elected Nov. 5, 1878.
Registers of Deeds, Recorders of Wills, and Clerki
THE Orphans' Colrt.2
Alexander McCIean, appointed Dec. 6, 1783; Jan. 30, li
April 6, 1818; Feb. 12, 1821; May 12, 1824; Dec.
1826; Feb. 4, 1830; Jan. 23, 1833.
John KefTcr, appointed Jan. 30, 1S34.
Robert Barton, appointed Jan. 13, 1836.
James Piper, appointed Feb. 6, 1S39; elected Oct. 8, 1839.
Joseph Gadd, elected Oct. 11, 1842; Oct. 14, 1845; Oct. 10,
1848.
Peter A. Johns, elected Oct. 14, 1851.
John Collins, elected Oct. 10, 1854.
James Darby, elected Oct. 1.3, 1857; Oct. 9, 1860.
George Morrison, elected Oct. 13, 1S63; Get. 9, 1866.
Joseph Beatty, elected Oct. 12, 1869; Oct. 8, 1872.
John W. Darby, elected Nov. 2', 1875; Nov. 5, 1878.
Charles D. Conner, elected November, 1881.
Coroners.
Henry Beeson, appointed Nov. 21, 1786; Oct. 25, 1787; Nov.
5, 1788; Oct. 30, 1789.
Jesse Beeson, appointed Jan. 24, 1812; April 15, 1815; Oct.
29, 1817.
Robert D. Moore, appointed Dec. 14, 1820: March 12, 1824;
Jan. 22, 1827.
James C. Cummings, appointed Nov. 5, 1829 ; JIarch 12, 1833.
John Townsend, appointed Nov. 3, 1835.
H. C. Matthews, appointed March 12, 1836.
James C. Cummings, elected Oct. 12, 1841.
Robert M. Walker, elected Oct. 8, 1844.
Upton L. Clemmer, elected Oet. 12, 1847; Oct. 10, 1848.
James Brownfield, elected Oct. 14, 1851.
Andrew Patrick, elected Oct. 12, 1852.
James Fuller, elected Oct. 12, 1858; Oct. 8, 1861.
William H. Sturgeon, elected Oct. 11, 1S6J.
William R. Seman, elected Oct. 8, 1S67.
John Finley, elected Oct. 12, 1869.
James C. Henry, elected Oct. 11, 1870.
James L. Trader, elected Oct. 10, 1871.
B. F. Brownfield, elected Nov. 5, 1874.
Joseph T. Shepler, elected Nov. 8, 1877.
J. D. Sturgeon, elected Nov. 2, 1880. ■
SURVEVORS.3
1769-72.— Arcliibald McClean, A. Lane, Ale.iander McClean,
Moses McClean.
1772-1828.— Alexander McClean.
1828 to August, 1836.— Freeman Lewis.
August, 1836, to March, 1837.— William Griffith.
June, 1837, to November, 1839.— William Calvin.
1839 to March, 1843.— John I. Dorsey.
March, 1843, to 1850.— James Snyder.
James Snyder, elected Oct. 2, 185(1; Oet. 11, 1853.
Martin Dickinson, elected Oct. 14, 1850 ; Oct. 11, 1S59; Oct. 14,
1862; Oct. 10, 1865.
Andrew J. Gilmore, elected Oct. 1.3, 1868; Oct. 10, 1871; Nov.
3. 1874.
Julius Shipley, elected Nov. 8, 1877.
John D. Boyd, elected Nov. 2, 1880.
Auditors.
The earliest official record having reference to the
auditors of Fayette County is an entry found in an
old book in the eommissioncrs' office, which a])pears
to be the first book of their minutes, viz. :
" Whereas at a Court of Common Pleas, held at
Union Town for the County of Fayette, the fourth
' Appointed by Hie commissioners until 1834, when the offlce I
elective.
- This office was hcia Ly appointment till 1S30, when it tjccamc ol
132
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Monday in June, in the year of our Lord one thou-
sand seven hundred and ninety-one, Before Edward
Cook, Esquire, President of said Court and Associate
Justices of the same.
" Pursuant to the Act of Assembly entitled An Act
to provide a more eflfectual method of settling the
public accounts of the Commissioners and Treasurers
of the respective counties, the court appointed Alex-
ander McClean and Nathaniel Breading, Esquire, and
Presley Carr Lane, Gentleman, Auditors for the fol-
lowing year."
The following list embraces the names of auditors
of Fayette County and the years in which they served
as fully as can be ascertained :
1792 (nppointcJ in .June). — .\lesandcr McClcan, Presley Carr
Lane. John Wilson.
1793-9.1 (appointed June IS).— Samuel King. Ale.xandcr JIc-
Cioan, Presley Carr Lane.
1"9S.— Jobn Lyon, Alexander McCIcan. Jacob Bowman.
1799-lSOl.— Jacob Bowman, A. McClean, Matthew Gilchrist.
1S09-10 (elected October).— Joseph Torrcnce, William Lynn,
Thomas Collins.
1815.- .Matiluu Cilcliiist. John P.oberts. Thomas Haddcn.
1S16.— William Xutt, John Roberts, Matthew Gilchri^t.
1S17.— William Xutt, John Bouvier, Matthew Gilchrist.
ISl 8-19.— Henry W. Beeson. John Bouvier. Willium Ewin,?.
1S30.— Henry W. Beeson, Andrew Oliphant, UMIiani Ewing.
1S2I.— Ilonry W. n.■.■=...^ V-l r, „.pi:,.!l, Willinm Ewing.
1S22.— W,1Im:„ !■■, , r ,•.,., , ■, -Mnuel Cleavinger.
1S2:!.— AI..1 iH, I . - . . , . Kllis Bailey.
1824-2a.-S;m,i,..i ,', ,M,,;, :. i: [:, i;,,|,y, John Fuller.
1S26.— Ellis Bayky, .lolm Fuller, E. Douglas, Jr.
1827.— E. Dou-Ias, Jr., Alexander Clear, Joshua Wood.
1S2S.— Alexanler Clear. Joshu i Wood, James Adair.
IS29.— Joshua Wood, Sqiiir.; Ayrcs. Amos Cooper.
1S.30.— .Squire Ayrcs, Amo- Cooper. Jolni Atliinson.
IS31.— John Alkinson, Il.iiry Eb.rt, Itirhard Taylor.
1832.- Ri.'liardTaylor, An.lrew M-nrr. W.llinu -nyder.
1S33.— Alhlr./w Mnore. WiU.inii Sn v^lrr. CI,,!,,,,,! \\....,1.
1834.-
1835.— Clement Wood. William Dryson. X. McCormick.
1836.— William Bryson, N. McCormick, John Bufhngton.
1837.— X. McCormick, John Buffington, John Morrison.
1838.— John Buffington, John Morrison, William Bryson.
1839.— John Morrison, William Bryson, Benjamin ILiyden.
1840.— John .Morrison. Bcnjaniin llayden, P. W. Morgan.
1841.— Benjamin llayden. P. W. Morgan, W. D. JIullin.
1S43.— P. W. Mor-;in, \\ . I). Mullin. John Gadd.
1S43.— W. II. .Mullin, .John Gadd, Joseph Krepps.
]S44.-.lnhn (lad. I, .lo-cph Kn.pps, S. P. Challant.
lS4,i.— Ilavid n.yanonn, S. P. Chalfant, Edward Hyde.
1846.-."^. P. Ihall.uil, Ivlward Ilydc, P. A. Johns.
1847.— Edward llyd-, P. A. Johns, Jacob Wolf.
1848.— P. A. .lolin-, .lac ib Wolf, William Elliot.
1849.— Jar.d, Woir, WUlian, Elliot, A. II. Pattcrson.
1850.- Williao, i;ilh,f, A. 11. Pattcrson, David Deyarmon.
1851.- A. n. Patf.r- Haiid Ucyarmon, John G. Ilertig.
1852.- David Deyariunii, J,,l,„ c. Hertig, John W. Skiles.
1863.— John G. H.rti,.-, .].,\,n W . Skiles, George W. Litman.
1854.- John W. SUilcs. Gcirgc \V. Litman. Jacob Newmycr. Jr
1855.- George W. Litman, Jacob Xewmyer, Jr., David P
1858.— John Brooks, Moses Hazen, Charles G. Turner.
1859. — William Hazen, Charles G. Turner, Andrew Fairchild.
IS60.— Charles G. Turner, Andrew Fairchild, Peter Cunnin-
I ham.
1S61.— William Hazen, William J. Stewart. PeterCunningham.
1802.- John 11. Bunker, Peter Cunningham, William J. Stew-
art.
1863.- John R. Bunker, Peter Cunningham, Andrew Stewart,
i Jr.
' 1864.— John R. Bunker, Andrew Stewart, Jr.. Job Strawn.
1865.- Andrew Stewart, Jr., Job Strawn, H. L. Hatfield.
I 1860.- Job Strawn, William B. Barris, D. W. C. Dumbauld.
i ]8f,7.— M'illiam B. Barris, D. W. C. Dumbauld, Thomas J.
i Burton.
. 1868.— D. W. C. Dumbauld, Thomas J. Burton, Finley Cha'.-
i fant.
1868.— Thomas J. Burton, Finley Chalfant, Josiah H. Miller.
1870.— Finley Chalfant, Josiah H. Miller, George B. Clcmmer.
1871.— Josiah U. Miller, George B. Clcmmer, Matthew M. Pat-
Lut;
cob Xewmyer, Jr., David P. Luiz, John Brooks
ivil P. Lutz, John Urooks, Moses Hazen.
1872.- George B. Clcmmer, Matthew M. Patte
Hawkins.
1873.— Matthew M. Patterson, Stephen Hawkins, James W.
Porter.
1874.— Stephen Hawkins. Abel Colley, Xicholas McCuIlough.
j 1875.— Samuel B. Rothermcl, AVilliam G. Yard, George W.
I H ss.
1878.— George W. MeCray, George M\ Kern, Joseph .M. Camp-
bell.
JrSTICES OF THE Pe.ICE.
The first two justices of the peace in the territory
now embraced in what is now Fayette County were
Capt. William Crawford and Thomas Gist, appointed
May 23, 1770, for Cumberland County. Crawford
Avas reappointed for Bedford by Governor Penn in
1771, and again upon the erection of Westmoreland
in 1773, when he was made presiding justice, but his
j commission was revoked in 1775, on account of his
having sided with the partisans of Virginia in the
controversy between the States. Upon the erection
of Yohogania County { Va.), in 1776, he was appointed
presiding justice in the courts of that county.
The following is a list of the justices of the peace
of Fayette County from its erection till 1790, with the
dates of their commissions :
John G.addis, March 19, 1784. W. McClelland, Aug. 27, 1785.
Alex. McClean, " " , Edward Cook, Nov. 21, 1780.
James Finley, " " : Eph. Wallers,
John Meason, June 1, 1784. James Coyle, March 31, I7S7.
Robt. Richey, Scjit. 14, 1784. ' Jjieob Stewart,
Andrew Uabb, Jan. 24, 1785. ' W. G. Wilson, Aug. 25, 1789.
James Xcal, Feb. 5, 1785. ' Thomas Gregg, July 22, 1790.
H. McLaughlin, Feb. 18, 1785. Abr'm Stewart, Aug. IS, 1790.
Xath. Breading, •'
Upon the division of the county into justices'
districts in 1803, the following named were elected
justices :
District No. ].— Jonathan Rowland.
2.— Robert Riehey, Zadok Springer.
" 3. — James Robinson.
" 4. — Jeremiah Kendall.
" 5.— Thomas Gregg, Isaac Rogers, Wm. Ewing.
FAYETTE CIVIL LIST.
District No. 6.— Hugh Loughlnn.
7.— John Patterson.
'* 8. — Joseph Morrison.
9.— Matthew Gilchrist.
10.— William Boyd, John Mcason, George J
thias, M.athew Gaut.
■■ 11.— Andrew Trapi).
" 12.— John Potter.
The following-named persons were justices of the I
peace in Fayette County in the year 1808 :
AVilliam Boyd, John Patterson, Hugh Laughlin, Thomas Gregg,
Robert Hichic, Jonathan Rowland, Matthew Gilchrist, An-
drew Trapp, Jacob Bowman, Josei>h Morrison, Isaac Rog-
ers, Willi'im Ewing, Jeremiah Kendall, George Mathiot,
Matthew Gaut, Zadock Springer, James Robinson, Robert
Smith, Andrew Oliphant, John Wood, Isaac Hastings,
Abraham Trembley, AVilliain Roberts, Joseph Lyon, James
Wilson, Hugh Shotwcll, James Cathcart, James Francis,
Elias Eaylis, Thomas Williams, James Allen, David How-
ard, Jesse Evar.s.
The names of justices holding office after this time
are given in the histories of the several townships.
Justices of the Peace and of the Court of Commox Pleas.
At the organization of the county the justices of
the peace and of the Court of Common Pleas resident
in the county and appointed under the jurisdiction of
Westmoreland County were Philip Rogers, Eobert
Adams, John Allen, Eobert Ritchie, and Andrew
Rabb. Appointments made from Oct. 9, 1783, to
1791 (at which latter date "judges learned in the
law" were made presidents of the court) were as
follows :
Eph. Douglass, Oct. 9, 17S.3.
Alex. McClean, Oct. 31,1783.
John Meason, June 1, 1784.
Kobt. Ritchie, Sept. 14, 1 784.
Andrew Rabb, Jan. 24, 1785.
Jas. Neal, Feb. 5, 1785.
Hugh Laughlin, Nov. 6, 1785.
Nath'l Breading, " "
Phesidi-NG Justices of the
Wm. McClelland, Nov. fi, '85.
Edward Cook, Nov. 21, 1786.
Eph. Walter, " "
Jacob Stewart, March .31, '87.
W. G. Wilson, Aug. 25, 1789.
Thomas Gregg, July 22, 1790.
Abrm Stewart, Aug. IS, 1790.
QuAiiTEK Sessions.'
Philip Rogers, December term, 178:!.
Philip Rogers, March term, 1784.
Alexander McClcan, June term, 1784, to June, 1785.
John Allen, June term, 1785.
Robert Ritchie, September, 17S5, to December, 17Sfi.
Alexander McClean, December, 178C, to June, 17S7.
Edward Cook, June, 1787, to June, 1791.
Associate Justices.
nyn.— Nathaniel Bre.ading (died 1821).
1791.— Isaac Meason (died ISIS), James Finley (dice
1792.— Edward Cook (died ISOS).
1S21.— Charles Porter (held till 1841, when const
1S.3S2 went into effect).
1 The senior justi^
as president of the courts
tion Wits filled by "judges
amier Addison was the first
-' UndiT the constitutioi
of the Co.
riciis ;i
1828.- Samuel Nixon (held till 1S41, when constitution of 183S
went into effect).
1841.- Robert Boyd, Eli Abrams.
1845.— James Fuller, John Huston.
1850. — George Mcason, John Dawson.
1851.- Thomas Duncan, John Brownfield.
1861.— William Hatfield, Alexander Crow.
1866.— Provance MoCormick, Alexander Crow.
1S71.— D. W. 0. Dumbauld, S.amuel Shipley.
1876.— D. AV. C. Dumbauld, Griffith Roberts.^
President Judges.
The office of president judge of the courts of this
judicial district has been held by the following resi-
dents of Fayette County, viz. :
Nathaniel Ewing, 1838 to 1848.
Samuel A. Gilmoro, Feb. 25, 1848, to October, 1S61, and No-
vember, 1865, to May, 1873.
John K. Ewing, November, 1864, to September, 1865.
Edward Campbell, 1S73.
Alpheus E. Willson, October, 1873 (still in office).
District Attorneys.*
1792.— R. Galbraith, deputy attorney-general under William
Bradford.
1794. — J. Young, deputy attorney-general under Jared In-
gersoU.
1795.- R. Galbraith, deputy attorney general under Jared
Ingcrsoll.
1801-4.— Thomas Iladdcn, deputy .ittorney-gcner.al under
Joseph McKcan.
1809-1 1 .—J. S. Tarr (appointed Feb. 16, 1 809), deputy attorney-
general under Walter Franklin.
1812-19.— Thomas Irwin, deputy attorney- general under Jared
designated as the .
Fayette County w
Greene County beii
elhanthp forty tho
1'^ cuuiity was entitled
the attorney-general
nie of the organizatio
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
1S20-2I.— John M. Austin, deputy attorney-general under
James Finloy, elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by the res-
Thomas EUier.
ignation of John Smilie.
1822.— John Dawson, deputy attorney-general under Thomas
Presley Carr Lane (Speaker), 1807-15.
Elder.
William Davidson, date of election not ascertained.
1824.— James Piper, deputy attorney-general under Frederiek
Daniel Sturgeon, elected in 1825, and re-elected for next suc-
Smith.
ceeding three terms. Speaker in 1828.
1826-29.- Richard Beeson, deputy attorney-general under
Solomon G. Krepps, 1831-33.
Frederick Smith.
John A. Sangston, 1834-37.
1830.-Ethe:bert P. Oliphant, deputy attorney-general under
William F. Coplan, 1S3S-42.
Samuel Douglas.
W. E. Frazer, 1855-57.
lS.31-:'.2.— Joshua B. Howell, deputy attorney-general under
Smith Fuller, 1861-03.
Samuel Douglas.
ThomasB.Searight, 1867-69.
JS3.3.— Robert P. Flennikin, deputy attorney-general under
AVilliam H. Playford, 1873-75.
Ellis Lewis.
T. B. Schnattcrly, 1879-82.
1S3C.— Rice G. IIo))Wood, deputy attorney-general under James
Todd.
Members of the House of RErnESENT.iTivES.
1838-10.— John L. Dawson, deputy attorney-general under
AVilliam B. Reed.
1776, 1782-83.— Alexander McClean, for Westmoreland County.
James A. Morris.
17S4-S5, 1786-87.— John Smilie.
A. JI. Linn.
1789-90.- Theophilus Phillips, John Gilchrist.
A. W. Barclay.
Elected.
1790-91. —James Finley, Albert Gallatin.
1791-93.— Joseph Torrencc. Albert Gallatin.
Everard Bierer. Oct. S. 18.50. Jos. JI. Oglevee, Oct. 13, 18f.8.
1793.— Joseph Torrence, John Cunningham.
J. X. 11. Patriek, Uet. 11, IS.:.:;. Albert D. Boyd, Oct. 10, 1871.
1794.— Albert Gallatin, John Cunningham.
J. W.Flcnniken.i.i-t. 14. ls:iC,. R. H. Lindsey, Nov. 3. 1874.
1795-97.— John Smilie, John Cunningham.
W.H. I'lavfMrd.iiei. 11. is.v.i. S. Leslie Jlcstrczat, Nov. G,
1797-98.— Joseph Huston, John Cunningham.
Cha* i: Bii\li', r»(t. 14. 1S(>2. 1877.
1799.— Presley Carr Lane, John Cunningham.
T. B. Schnatierly, Oct. 10, 'bi. Isaac h. Johnson, Nov. 2, 1880.
lSOO-2.— Charles Porter, John Cunningham.
1803.— Charles Porter, John Cunningham, Samuel Trevor.
S,:r,n-:TAKV of tiif. TnEAsmv (Cnited Slites).
1804.— Charles Porter, John Cunningham, Christian Tarr.
Albert Ualhiliu, 18112-14.
1805.— Charles Porter, William Boyd (Speaker), Christian Tarr.
United States Senators.
1806.- Joscjili Iluslon, John Cunningham,' Christian Tarr.
Albert Gallatin. ]7'.i3-'.)4.
1807.-Charle3 Porter, Cliri,tian Tarr, Isaac GrifBn.
Daniel Sturgeon. lS4ll-il.
ISOS-10.— Samuel Trevor, Clnistian Tarr, Isaac Griffin.
1814.- John St. Clair (Speaker).
DiuErrnR OF United States Mint.
1818.- William Davidson (Speaker).
Daniel Sturgeon, lS03-a8.
IS39.-^-Robert P. Flenniken, William Andrews.
United St.Ues Minister to Denmark.
1840.— Robert P. Flenniken, John Fuller.
Robert P. Flennikin, appointed bv President Polk, 1845.
1 84 1.— Aaron Bucher, John 11. Deford.
1842.— John Morgan, John H. Deford.
Governor of Utah Territokv.
1S43-44.— John Morgan, James C. Cummings.
Robert P. Flennikin. appointed by President Buchanan, 1857.
1845.- Robert T. Galloway, Alexander M. Hill.
Members of Congress.
lS46.-John W. Philips, William Colvin.
IS47-48.— William Redick, William T. Roberts.
JohnSmilie. 17!i3-95. 1790-1812.
Albert Gallatin. 170:)-07, 1790-1801.
1849-50.— James P. Downer, Joseph E. Griffin.
1851.— Peter U. Hook, AlcNandcr M. Hill.
Chri-t.an ■|:h,. IM:-L'1.
Andrcn Siru.irt. |sJI-2:;. 1827-29, 1831-35, 1830-49.
Thoma.- Irw.n, ls-j:u:;|.
1853.- AVilliam Y. Roberts, Abraham Gallantine.
1855.— S. B. P.age.
1856.— Peter A. Johns.
1857.— John Bierer.
Henry W . Boon, 1S41-43.
John L. Dawson, ls.-,l-55, 180.3-67.
1858.- Henry Galley.
1859-60.— John Collins.
Attounev-Geseral of Pe.nxsvlvania.
1861-62.- DanielKaine.
James Todd, Dee. 18, 1835, to March, 1833.
1863-64.- Thomas B. Searight.
1865-66.- Charles E. Boyle.
State Treasurers.
1867-68.- William H. Playford.
JohnB. Trevor, 1820-21.
1869-70.— Thomas B. Schnatterly.
Daniel Sturgeon, 1S36-40.
1871-72.— Samuel H. Smith.
ArDITOR-GENERAL OF PeNNSVLTANIA.
1873.— Jasper M. Thompson.
Daniel Sturgeon, .appointed M.ay 3, 1830; held till May, 1836.
1874.— Robert T. Deyarmon, James Darby.
1876.- Robert M. Hill.
State Senators.^
1878.— Jacob Proving, Charles S. Seaton.
John Smilie, elected 1790. In 1792 he resigned on account of
ISSO.-Jacob Provins, Smith Buttermore.
his election to Congress in that year.
1 No cunn.lete li»t can be given for the years prior to 1S20, because no
■ For about thirty y«ars prior to this date no election records arc in
election records covering that period are in esialciice.
existence, therefore the list cannot be given for IhoBc jcars.
COUNTY SOCIETIES.
]55
Mf.mdkiis Of TUE 8
UPREME EXI-
Isaac Meiison, 1783.
John Woods, Nov. C,
1784
John Smilie, Nov. 2,
17SC.
Nathaniel Breading,
Nov.
9, 17S9.
Members of Constitutiosal
1776.-Edward Cook
Johi
Cavmichael
17S9-90.— John Smilie, Albert Gallalin.
183S.— John Fuller, David Gilmore, William L. Miller.
Member op the Cou.vcil ok Cexsohs.'
John Smilie, elected 1783.
Member of the Board of Propertv.
Nathaniel Breading, appointed Nov. 1, 1790.
Commissioner of Exchange.
Edward Cook, aiipointed April 5, 1779.
Cor.NTV LlEUTE.VAXTS.'
I Edward Cook, Jan. 5, 1782.
! Eobert Beall, Feb. 19, 1784.
I Joseph Torrcnce, Sept. 3, 1789.
I SlTB-LlEUTENAXTS.
Edward Cook, March 21, 1777, Westmoreland.
Edward Cook, June 2, 1780, AVcstmorcltind.
Alexander MoClean, Jan. 5, 1782, Westmoreland.
' Agent for Forfeited Estates.
I Ephraim Douglass, March 14, 1789.
Collectors of Excise.
Joseph Douglass,' Dec. 12, 17Sfi.
Benjamin Wells, 1792-04.
COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETIES.
In the Genius of Libcrtij oi Oct. 18, 1809, occurs
the earliest mention of a medical society in Fayette
County. It is an article addressed to physicians, and
closes as follows : "And for that purpose the members
of the Union Medical Society and other practition-
ers who as yet have not had an opportunity of be-
coming members are requested to attend at the house
of Mr. James Gregg, in Uniontown, on Tuesday, the
Ttli day of November, at 11 o'clock a.m. ;" dated Oct.
5, 1809. No account is found of the meeting, nor
any I'urther knowledge of the society obtained, except
that in the following year there was published in the
«ame newspaper "A schedule of compensations ad-
judged by the committee, members of the Union
Medical Society, which may be due for medical ser-
vice, etc., followed by the prices as established by
1 The duty of the Council of Censors was to inquire and usrertain
wliellior the constitution had "been preserved inviolate in every part;''
vliether it was perfect in all its parts, or reiiuiriug amendment; also to
review the decisions of the judges of the courts.
2 The oBice uf county lieuleimnt existed in Pennsylvania from 1770
to 1790. It carried with it the title of colonel, and gave to the persun
lioldiug it the command of the militia and the management of the mili-
tary fiscal affiiirs of the county.
3 On the 7th of April, 1785, 'William Gralinm was nppoin:cJ collector
of e.xcise lor Westmorelaud, Washingtuu, an , \.,y\\- ik-s. His
was one of the first causes out of which (.T" ! " I -ur-ction.
John Cruig succeeded him, and his coni:iii-M n ^^,l- m . Ltd Dec. 12,
nsij.
the fee bill, and signed by Robert D. Moore, Lewis
Sweitzer, and Lewis Marchand, committee, with date
of Sept. 1, 1810.
The Fayette County Medical Association was
formed at a meeting of physicians of the county,
held for that purpose at the Town Hall in Union-
town, June 25, 1844. The physicians present were
Drs. Campbell, Stanley, Johnston, Thompson, Rob-
erts, Worrak, Miller, Fleming, Jones, Lindley, Rob-
inson, Post, Fuller, Neff, Penny, Marchand, Lafferty,
Fitter, Mathiot, and Shugart. Dr. Abraham Stanley
was made chairman, assisted by Drs. Lindley and
Campbell, which last-named gentleman delivered
the address. Dr. Smith Fuller and Dr. H. F. Rob-
erts reported a constitution and by-laws, which were
adopted by the meeting and subscribed by the fol-
lowing-named physicians, viz. : Hugh Campbell, A.
H. Campbell, Smith Fuller, H. F. Roberts, and D. H.
Johnston, of Uniontown ; Lutellus Lindley, Connells-
ville ; Abraham Stanley, Bridgeport ; James Thomp-
son, New Geneva; W. L. Laflerty, Brownsville;
Lewis Marchand, near Brownsville; T. A. Shugart
and James Robinson, Perryopolis; C. B. Fitter and
PI. B. Mathiot, Smithfield; Jacob Post, New Salem;
F. H. Fleming, Cookstown ; G. W. Nelf, Masontown ;
J. Penny, McClellandtown ; and J. R. Worrak and
J. H. Miller, of Washington County.
The association was organized with the following-
named officers :
President, Dr. Hugh Campbell.
Treasurer, Dr. Smith Fuller.
Corresponding Secretary, Dr. A. H. Campbell.
Recording Secretary, Dr. H. F. Roberts.
Meetings were held in August and November of
that year, but the association appears to have been
short-lived, for the last record of it is dated Dec. 19,
1844.
The present medical society of the county was
formed at a meeting of physicians held for the pur-
pose at Brownsville, May 18, 1869. There were pres-
ent Drs. J. S. Van Vuorhecs, W. H. Sturgeon, H. F.
Roberts, W. P. Duncan, S. A. Conklin, J. B. Ewing,
Knox, and Hazlctt. A committee, composed of Drs.
Duncan, Ewing, Conklin, and Sturgeon, reported a
constitution (based on that of the Alleglicny County
Medical Society), and -ium d by the |iliy,-i(i;iiis above
named, with the a.lditi..n ..f V. (J. l!..l.iii-..,ii and B.
F. Conklin. The first officers of the society were W.
P. Duncan, jircsident; J. S. Van Voorhees, vice-
president ; J. B. Ewing, recording secretary ; H. F.
Roberts, corresponding secretary; and W. H. Stur-
geon, treasurer.
At the meeting held in July following the consti-
tution was signed by Drs. Lindley, Fuller, Groonet,
Phillips, Rogers, Patten, Mathiot, Carey, Fiiiley, and
Eastman. Additions to the roll of the society were
made at subsequent times as follows:
15G
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
October, 1870.— Drs. George V/. Neff, James Sloan,
S. B. Chalfant, John Davidson.
Jan. .3, 1871.— Dr.s. Sangston and Porter.
April 4, 1871.— Dr. Smith Buttermore.
Jan. 2, 1872.— Dr. J. J. Singer, Connellsville.
April 2, 1872.— Dr. W. C. Byers, Belle Vernon.
Oct. 1, 1872.— Drs. Isaac Jackson and B. Shoe-
maker, of Brownsville.
April 1, 1873.— Dr. Strickler.
Oct. 8, 1873.— Dr. L. Lindley, Connellsville.
Jan. 2, 1877. — Dr. John Hankins, Uniontown.
July 3, 1877. — Drs. Richard Shipler and Johnston.
Oct. 2, 1877.— Dr. J. R. Nelin, Brownsville.
Jan. 8, 1878. — Dr. Nelson Green, New Geneva, and
Dr. L. S. Gaddis, Uniontown.
April 1, 1879.— Drs. J. M. Gordon, J. M. Gordon,
Jr., and Smith Fuller, Jr.
June 4, 1881.- Dr. J. V. Porter.
The officers of the society for 1881 are :
President, Dr. J. B. Ewing ; Vice-President, Dr.
John D. Sturgeon, Jr. ; Recording Secretary, Dr.
John Hankins ; Assistant Secretary, Dr. W. S. Dun-
can ; Treasurer, Dr. L. S. Gaddis ; Censor, Dr. F. C.
Robinson; Delegates to State Medical Convention,
Drs. Robinson, Green, Duncan, Clark, and Sturgeon,
Jr. ; Delegates to National Medical Association, Drs.
Van Voorhees, Robinson, and Duncan.
COUXTY AGRICrLTUR.\L SOCIETIES.
The existence of a society for the promotion of
agriculture in Fayette County sixty years ago is
proved by an entry in the records of the commis-
sioners of date Sept. 2, 1822, at which time the board
"issued $150 to Hugh Thompson, treasurer of the
Society for the Promotion of Agriculture and Domestic
Manufactures in Fayette County, which sum the said
society are entitled to receive out of the county treas-
ury agreeably to an act of the General Assembly
passed March 0, 1820."
The Brownsville Wesferii Reghtrr of March 10,
1823, contains an advertisement by the secretary of
the a.i;ricultural s.jcicly. Col. Samuel Evans, announ-
cing the preiiiiunis to \n- awarded at the exhibition of
t'.iat year. It was reijuircl that "articles must have
been manufactuicd in Fayette County, otherwise
they are not entitled to preniiaiiis." This is the latest
notice of or reference to this old society which has
been found.
In 1852 an HLirirultuial association was formed in
Jefferson towii-liip, and a fair was held on the farm of
Robert Elliott. Altcrwards Mr. 'Williani Colvin, of
Redstone, and citizens of Brownsville and Luzerne
township became interested, and formed the project
to organize a county association, which was accom-
plished, and its first exhibition was held on the form
of Eli Cope, Esq., near Brownsville. Associations
were soon after formed at Fayette City and Connells-
ville. The people of Uniontown became awakened,
and the project was conceived to form a society, with
headquarters and grounds at the county-seat. The
proposition was made to the Brownsville society, and
was concurred in by a number of its officers and mem-
bers. In 1857 or '.58 a lot of about twenty acres of
land was secured in a favorable location, suitable
buildings and a large number of stalls for stock were
erected, and a half-mile track graded. Here several
exhibitions were held, but the breaking out of the
war of the Rebellion overshadowed everything not
pertaining to its prosecution, and led to the abandon-
ment of this enterprise.
About 1869 a society known as the Fayette County
Agricultural and Mechanical Association was formed, ,
which located its grounds above Brownsville, on the '
farm of William Britton, where the necessary build-
ings were erected, fences built, and a track graded, ,
involving an expenditure of some thousands of dol-
lars. The first exhibition of the association was held \
here in 1869, and several were held afterwards, but
no permanent success resulted, and the enterprise
languished and finally failed.
The Fayette County Agricultural Association was
chartered July 21, 1879, with E.. B. Dawson, Robert
Hogsett, William Beeson, Joseph M. Hadden, and
John Snider, charter members. In the spring of the
same year an arrangement was. made with Monroe
Beeson, administrator of the estate of Rachel Skiles,
deceased, for a tract of about twenty-nine and a half
acres of land, which was deeded to the association in
November of the same year. An additional lot of
land adjoining the first named, and containing two
and three-fourths acres, was purchased of William
H. Sembower, and conveyed to the association by
deed dated Oct. 5, 1879.
The fair-grounds, embracing these two tracts, are
located on the west side of the track of the Southwest
Pennsylvania Railroad, about five-eighths of a mile
north of Uniontown. On these grounds suitable
buildings and stalls were erected, a tract graded in the
best manner, and the whole well inclosed by a sub- ■
stantial fence, the total cost being about $10,000.
Within this inclosure the first fair of the association
was held iu the fall of 1879, with favorable financial
result. At the fair of 1880 there were five hundred
and sixty entries in the agricultural department alone,
and the aggregate receipts of the exhibition were
about $2600. If the interest which has already been
awakened among the people continues to increase In
the same ratio as hitherto, the prospects of the asso-
ciation are excellent for the future. Further improve-
ments iu the grounds are in contemplation, and when
these are completed as proposed, they will hardly be
inferior to the grounds of any similar association in
the State of Pennsylvania.
The present (1881) officers of the association are
Jas])er M. Thompson, president ; A. C. Nutt, trea.s-
urcr ; and John K. Ewing, secretary.
THE AVIIISKEY INSURRECTION.
157
CHAPTEE XV.
THE WHISKEY IXSURRECTIOX.
" The Whiskey Insurrection" is a term which has
been usually applied to a series of unlawful and vio-
lent acts committed (principally in 1794, but to
some extent in previous years) by inhabitants of the
counties of Washington, Allegheny, Westmoreland,
and Fayette. These illegal and insurrectionary acts
embraced an armed resistance on several occasions to
the execution of certain State and national laws im-
posin;; an excise tax on distilled spirits and stills
used for the manufacture of such spirits, a measure
which was generally and peculiarly obnoxious to the
people of these counties, particularly because they
regarded it as calculated to bear with especial and
discriminating severity on the industries of this sec-
tion as compared with other parts of the country.
The first excise tax imposed in the province of
Pennsylvania was that authorized in an act of As-
sembly passed March IC, 1684, entitled " Bill of Aid
and Assistance of the Government." ' As it was found
to be objentionable to the sense of the people, that
part of the bill relating to the collection of excise
duties was repealed soon afterwards, and no similar
legislation was had for more than half a century. In
1738 the provincial Assembly passed "An act for
laying an excise on wine, rum, brandy, and other
spirits,"- but this, like its predecessor of 1684, was
received with such unmistakable disfavor that it re-
mained in force only a few months from the com-
mencement of its operation. Again, in May, 1744,
the Assembly renewed the measure, " for the pur-
pose of providing money without a general tax, not
only to purchase arms and ammunition for defense,
but to answer such demands as might be made upon
the inhabitants of the province by his Majesty for
distressing the public enemy in America."^ This
enactment remained in operation but a short time.
Another excise law was passed in 1756, but failed of
execution ; then for nearly sixteen years the people
of Pennsylvania were undisturbed by governmental
attem)pts to collect impost duties on spirits.
In 1772 the subject came again before the Assam- I
bly, and as a measure of revenue a new act was
piisiied* levying a duty on domestic and foreign dis-
tilled spirits. At first this law was not executed in I
reference to domestic liquors, nor was there any en- |
ergetic attempt made for that purpose, particularly in [
the old counties of the province ; but after Pennsyl-
vania became a State, and her necessities were greatly
increased by the Revolutionary war, then in progress,
the law was put in execution, and a very consider-
able revenue obtained in that way, the measure being
at that time the less obnoxious because patriotic men
were opposed to the consumption of grain in distilla-
1 Votes of AESombly, i. 20. 2 DiiUas, i. 203.
tion at a time when every bushel was needed for the
subsistence of the troops in the field, fighting for lib-
erty. A large part of the proceeds collected at that
time was appropriated to the "depreciation fund,"
created in this State (as in others, in pursuance of a
resolution passed by Congress in 1780; for the pur-
pose of giving to officers and soldiers of the Revolu-
tionary army an additional compensation, a measure
which was manifestly just and necessary, because the
value of their pay had been greatly lessened by the
depreciation of the Continental currency.
After the close of the Revolution, laws imposing
excise duties on distilled spirits remained on the
Pennsylvania statute-books until 1791, but they were
not generally enforced, and were exceedingly unpop-
ular, especially in the western and southwestern por-
tions of the State. During the period mentioned
(some seven or eight years prior to their repeal in
1791), though the excise laws of the State were by
no means generally enforced, the collection of the
revenue tax on spirits was several times attempted,
but never successfully executed in the southwestern
counties. Such an attempt was made in Fayette,
Westmoreland, and Washington Counties in the year
1786, and the consequences resulting to an excise
officer in the last-named county are shown in a letter
written by Dorsey Pentecost'"' to the Executive Coun-
cil of Pennsylvania, as follows:
" WASjiiNGrgN Cuu.vrv, ICtli Apr.l, 17SC.
" Gextlejiex :
" About ten days ago a Mr. Graham, Excise officer
for the three western Counties, wa^, in the exercise of
hisoflice in this County, seized liy a iiuiuliriof People
and Treated in the following maniRi-, vi/. : His Pis-
tols, which he carried before him, taken and broke to
pieces in his presence, his Commission and all his
papers relating to his Ofiice tore and thrown in the
mud, and lie rnrciMl ..r maile to >tainp (in them, and
Imprecak- .airsrs ..n himsrlf, tlir ( 'MmmisMr.n, and the
Authority that -avr it to liim: tiny tluMi cut oil' one-
half his hair, rurd tliuotlici' half oii on,- si.le of liis
Head,<-utu:l'thr (;.H-lo.f hi. Hat, ami mad,- hiiu wi-ar
it in a lonn to rrwlw lii> ( ■„,. tlir uuM Conspiru.uis ;
this with luaiiy otlua- marks of Ignominy they Im-
jios'do]! liim.ami to which lie was obliged to submit;
and in the aliove plii:lit they marched him amidst a
Crowd from the frontiers ,,r this County to Westmore-
land County, calling at all the ^lill llou-e-in their
way. where they were Treated (iratis, and expos'd
him to rvory Insult and mockery that their Invention
loiihl coiitnve. They set him at Liberty at the en-
trance ot' Westmoreland, but with Threats of utter
Desolutioii >honl.l he dare to return to our County.
"This llamlittie 1 am told denounces distruction,
vengeance aguiii.,t all manner of People who dare to
oppose or even ganesay this their unparrelled beha-
158
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
vior, and that they will support every person con-
cerned against every opposition. I suppose they de-
pend on their numbers, for I am told the Combination
is large.
" 1 have thought it my duty as a good citizen to
give your Honorable Board information of this match-
less and daring Insult offered to Government, and the
necessity there is for a speedy and Exemplary pun-
ishing being inflicted on those atrocious offenders, for
if this piece iifcimduct is lightly looked over, no Civil
officer will 111- siile in the Exerciseof his duty, though
some Gontkiiiei) with whom I have conversed think
it would be best, and wish a mild prosecution; for my
part I am of a different opinion, for it certainly is the
most audacious and accomplished piece of outragious
and unprovoked Insult that was ever offered to a i
Government and the Liberties of a free People, and :
what in my ojnnion greatly agrivates their Guilt is
that it was not done in a Gust of Passion, but cooly,
deliberately, and Prosecuted from day to day, and I
tiicre appears such a desolute and refractory spirit to j
pervade a Certain class of Peojile here, particularly ]
those concerned in the above Job, that demands the ^
attention of Government, and the most severe pun- j
ishment.
" I am not able to give the names of all concerned,
nor have I had an ri]ipoitunity of making perticular
enquiry, but have received the aforegoing informa-
tion from different pe<>|.lcnn whom I can rely, neither
do I think they have as many Irieiids as they >npii<}se,
or would wish to make the i.uKlic believe. I have it
not in my Power at this time to lie as full and ex-
plicit as I could wish on this subject, as I have but
Just time to hurry up this scrawl while the carrier is
waiting.
" I am, Gentlemen,
with the highest Esteem and Respect,
your most obdt, very Humble Servt.
" DoRSEY Pentecost.''
" His Excellency The President
and ^Members of the Supreme
Executive Council of Pennsylvania.
" P.S. — I have just snatched as much time as to
write a short note to the Chief Justice on the above
subject."
The Mr. Graham referred to in the above letter was
the exci-e nlliccr for the district comprising Wash-
ington, WotiiH ivlaiid, aii.l r:iy,'tte. Nothing ap-
pears to -how that 111' \va- >iniihirly iiialtreated in the
two latter counties, but the iml.lic feeling in tliem, if
less aggrc- ive, was ,.,ually .Icterniined against the
excise, and no collections were made by tlie officers
in this district under the State law during its con-
Upon the adoption of the Federal Constitution, it
became necessary to provide ways and means to sup-
port the government, to pay just and pressing Revo-
lutionary claims, and sustain the army, which was
still necessary for the protection of the frontier against
Indian attack. " The duties on goods imported were
very far from adequate to the wants of the new gov-
ernment. Taxes were laid on articles supposed to be
the least necessary, and, among other things, on dis-
tilled liquors, or on the stills with which they were
manufactured." At the suggestion of Alexander
Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, a bill was
framed, among the provisions of which was the impo-
sition of an excise duty of four pence per gallon on
all distilled spirits. This bill was passed by Congress,
March 3, 1791, against the strong opposition of many
members, among the most determined and energetic
of whom was the representative of this district, Wil-
liam Findley, of Westmoreland. Albert Gallatin and
John Sniilie, both men of the highest prominence and
residents of Fayette County, were among the strongest
opponents of the measure, though not advocates of
forcible resistance to its execution.
It was argued that the "law of 1791 bore more
heavily and unjustly on the interests of the region
west of the AUeghenies than on those of any other
part of the Union. Here a principal product of the
farmers was rye. For this there was little home de-
mand, and it could not be transported across the
mountains at a profit, except in the form of whiskey.
" A horse could carry but four bushels, but he could
take the product of twenty-four bushels in the shape
of alcohol. Whiskey, therefore, was the most import-
ant item of remittance to pay for their salt, sugar,
and iron."- As a result of these peculiar circum-
"Section2. Provided iihvajs, . . . Thnt nolliingliorein cnntriiiiedsliiill
be deemed or cuiistnied to prevent the recovery of all such duties utioii
ttie ?aid .irliLles as are now due to the Coliinionvvealth, nor to release or
tai,.' a\\;ty :iM\ f.Mteitnre or penalty wliii-h any pei-son or persons may
r, uti HI', uiiijiiiitced. or which may be commenced in consequence Ihero-
i.f, may I..' iiiMs,.-i:uted to as full effect as if such acts or parts thereof
growing rich by III. I - : i .....: I 1 1 ■ .town the
in possr-ssion of tlie Spaiiioli. Tlic IViiglit on a barrel of Hour to I'hila-
delpliia was us much as it would bring in that market. • Wheal,* says
the Rev, Dr. Carnalian, ' was so plentiful and of so little value that it
w.is a conimon practice to grind that of the best quality and feed it to
tlie cattle; while rye, corn, and barley would bring no price as fond for
man or beast,* The only way left for the inlnibitants to obtain a little
i.tliir
titles
4
THE WHISKEY INSUKRECTION.
153
stimces, tlicrc w;is in this soclion a greater number of
stills and a larger amount of whiskey manufactured
than in any other region of the same population in
any part of the country. " There were very few or j
111) large manufactories where grain was bought and \
v:\>U i)aid. There was not capital in the country for 1
that purpose. In some neighborhoods every filth or
sixth farmer was a distiller, who during the winter
season manufactured his own grain and that of Jiis
neighbors into a portable and saleable article." And 1
thus the people thought " they foresaw that what |
little money was brought into the country by the j
sale of whiskey would be carried away in the form of
excise duties."' 1
In these western counties a large proportion of the
inhabitants were Scotch-Irish, or of that descent, a i
people whose earlier home, or that of their fathers,
liad been beyond the sea, in a land where whiskey
was the national beverage, and where excise laws and j
excise officers were regarded as the most odious of all 1
the measures and minions of tyranny. "They also !
remembered that resistance to the Stamp Act and
duty on tea at the commencement of the Revolution
began by the destruction of the tea and a refusal to
use the royal stamps ; that the design was not to break
allegiance to the British throne, but to force a repeal i
of these odious laws. They were, almost to a man,
enemies to the British government, and had contri- i
buted their full proportion in service in establishing
the independence of America. To them no other tax |
of equal amount would have been half so odious." j
It can scarcely be wondered at then that among a
people holding such opinions the measure was re-
garded as a most unjust and oppressive one, nor that
the more hot-headed and turbulent ones freely and
fiercely announced their determination to oppose its
execution even to the extremity of armed resistance
to the government.
This rebellious sentiment was so wide-spread, so :
unmistakable in its character, and indicated by such
open threats of violence to any officers who might be
hardy enough to attempt the collection of the excise
duty, that it became difficult to find any proper person
■ willing to take the risk of accepting the office of chief
inspector of the Western District. The position was :
finally accepted by Gen. John Neville,- of Allegheny
1 Address of Rov. Dr. CaniahHti.
" " In order to alliiy opposition as far as possible,'' saj's Judge Wilke-
son, "Gen. Jidiii Neville, a man of tlio most deserved popularity, was
appointed to the iiispectorsliip for Western Pennsylvania, lie accepted
tlie appointment from a sense of duty to liis country. He was one of tlie
few men of great weullii who liad put his al] atliazardfor independence.
At liis own expense lie raised and equipped a company of soldiers, marched
them to Boston, and placed them, with his son, under the command of
Gen. Washington. He was brolher-in-Iaw to the distinguished Gen.
Slorgan, aud father-iu-Iaw to Blaja. Craig and Klrkpatrick, •officers
higlily respected in the western country. Besides Gen. Neville's claims
as a soldier and a patriot, he had contributed greatly to relieve the suf-
ferings of the settlers in his vicinity. He divided his last loaf with the
needy; and in a seiison of more than ordinary scarcity, as soon ^s his
wheat was snIBcienlly matured to be converted into food, he op'^ned his
County, a man who iibove nearly all others was, on
account of his great personal popularity and unques-
tioned honesty and patriotism, the proper man for the
place. But the confidence and respect of his fellow-
citizens proved insufficient to screen him from their
insults and violence when against these was weighed
the fact that he had accepted an office the duties of
which obliged him to attemjit llio execution of a law
which they detested.
The popular excitement increased rapidly, the spirit
of resistance became more determined, and soon found
expression in a public act which may be said to have
marked the commencement of the famous " Whiskey
Insurrection." This w.is a preliminary meeting held
in Fayette County, at Eedstone Old Fort (Browns-
ville), on the 27th of July, 1791, composed of people
opposed to the execution of the law. At this meeting
it was concerted that county committees should be
formed in each of the four counties of Fayette, West-
moreland, Washington, and Allegheny, to meet at the
respective county-seats and take measures looking to
a common end, — successful resistance to the operation
of the law. These committees were formed accord-
ingly, and the temper aiid ideas of the men composing
them may be judged from the proceedings had at a
meeting of the Washington County Committee, held
at the county-seat on the 23d of August, on which
occasion resolutions were passed to the effect that any
person who had accepted or might accept an office
under Congress in order to carry the excise law into
effect should be considered inimical to the interests
of the country, and recommending to the people of
their county to treat every person who had accepted,
or might thereafter accept, any such office with con-
tempt, and absolutely to refuse all kind of communi-
cation or intercourse with him, and to withhold from
him all aid, support, or comfort. These resolutions
were printed in the Pitfsbimjh Oaze/le, the proprietor
of which paper would doubtless have feared the con-
sequences of a refusal to publish them if he had been
so disposed.
Each of the four county committees deputed three
of its members to meet at Pittsburgh on the first Tues-
day of September following, for the purpose of ex-
pressing the sense of the people of the four counties in
an address to Congress " upon the subject of the excise
law, and other yrkvancrs." The meeting of delegates
was held at Pittsburgh, as appointed, on the 7th of
September, 1791, on which occasion (according to the
minutes of the meeting) "the following gentlemen
appeared from the counties of Westmoreland, Wash-
ington, Fayette, and Allegheny, to take into consid-
eration an act of Congress laying duties upon spirits
fields to those who i
citizens. The first :
. He entered upon
(<nt among the most
n force the law were
IGO
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
distilled within the United States, passed the 3d of
March, 1791.
"For Westmoreland County: Xeheniiah Stokely
and John Young, Esqs.
" For Washington County : Col. James Marshal,
Rev. David Phillips, and David Bradford, Esq.
"For Fayette County: Edward Cook, Nathaniel
Bradley [Breading], and John Oliphant, Esqs.
"For Allegheny County: Col. Thomas Morton,
John Wond.s,"E>.|', and William Flumer, Esq.
"Edward C'»ik, K-,|.. was voted in the chair, and
John Young ai.i".iiitfd seiTitary."
The meeting then proceeded to [lass a series of
resolutions, censuring the legislation of the late Con-
gress, especially the obnoxious excise law, which they
characterized as "a base ofl'spring of the funding
system, . . . being attended with infringements on
liberty, partial in its operations, attenilcd with gieat
expense in the collection, and liable tn niucli mIuhi."
and declaring that " it is insulting to thr r,rUii-~ ni the
people to have their vessels marked, lioii~(.s |iMinlcd
and ransacked, to be subject to infornu'r-. jaiiiiiij- Ky
the occasional delinquency of others. It i- a l^nl pii_-
cedent, tending to introduce the excise laws ol (ireat
Britain, and of cnuntries where the liberty, property,
and even the morals of the peoitle are s]iorted with, to
gratify particular men in their ambitions and inter-
ested measures." The meeting also adopted a renidu-
strance to "be presented to the Legislature nf IV-nn-
sylvania," and further " 7?' -■/'■,, /, That the f>rei:..ing
presented to the Legislature of the United States."
An address was al-o ad i}. ted, which, together with
the proceedings ot' thr day, was ordered to be printed
in \\\c I'itti'buriilt (Jn:,<t:\ and the meeting then ad-
journed.
In reference to this meeting at Pittsburgh, and
others of similar character, ^slw Hamilton, Secretary
of the Trca-urv. said that, bein- " .•oniposed of very
influential individuaK, and conducted without mod-
eration or prudence," they were ju<tly chargi-alile
with the excesses which were afterwards committed,
serving to give consistency to an (qipo^ition which at
length matured to a degree that threatened the foun-
dations of the government.
On the (;th of September, the day before the meet-
ing of the conunittees' delegates at PittslinrL'h, the
opposition to the law broke out in an a' t of .,|.,ii vio-
lence, said to have been the tirst of the Vu\i\ < i-
mitted in the western counties. At a i>lair luar
Pigeon Creek, iu Washington C-iUnty, a party of imai,
armed and disguised, waylaid Kobert Johnson (col-
lector of revenue for Allegheny and Washington ), cut
olf his hair, stripped him of lii^ clothin-, tarred and
feathered him, and took away hishor-e, " obliginghim
to travel on fo,)t a eon-iderable distance in that morti-
fying and painl'ul -itn.iiioii." The case was brought
before tlic Li.^tiiet ( 'ourt, out of which processes issued
a-ainst John Kobertson, John Hamilton, and Thomas
I JlcComb, three of the persons concerned in the out-
rage. The serving of these processes was confided by
the then marshal, Clement Biddle, to his deputy, Jo-
seph Fox, who in the month of October went into Al-
legheny County for the purpose of serving them ; but
he was terri fied by the " appearances and circumstances
which lie observed in the course of liis joyruey," and
therefore, instead of serving them himself, sent them
forward under cover by a private messenger. The
marshal (Mr. Biddle), in his report of this transaction
to the district attorney, said, " I am sorry to add that
I he [the deputy, Fox] found the people in general in
the western part of the State, particularly beyond the
Allegheny Mountains, in such a ferment on account
' of the act of Congress for laying a duty on distilled
spirits, and so much opposed to the execution of said
act, and from a variety of threats to himself personally
(although he took the utmost precautious to conceal
his errand), that he was not only convinced of the im-
possibility of serving the process, but that any attempt
to effect it would have occasioned the most violent
op]iosition from the greater part of the inhabitants,
and he declares that if he had attempted it he be-
lici-es he iroiild nni have reiurited alive. I spared no
' expense or pains to have the process of the court ex-
1 ceuted, and have not the least doubt that my deputy
would have accomplished it if it could have been
done."
In Fayette County the collector of revenue, Benja-
min Wells, was subjected to ill treatment on account
of his official position. That Mr. Wells was pecu-
liarly unpopular among the people of his district ap-
pears from the letters of Judge Alexander Addison,'
and from other sources, and he was afterwards several
times maltreated, and his house sacked and burned.
These acts were done in 1793 and 1794, but the first
instance of abuse to him appears to h.ave occurred in
I the fall of 1791, as the Secretary of the Treasury in
his report to the President, after narrating the cir-
curnstances of the attack on Robert Johnson, in
AVashington County, on the Gth of September, con-
tinues : '■ Mr. Johnson was not the only olficer who,
.ihnnt flir s,ime period, experienced outrage. Mr.
Well \ collector of the revenue for Westmoreland and
Fayette, was also ill treated at Greensburg and Union-
town. Nor were the outrages perpetrated confined to
the officers, they extended to private citizens who
1 Jiulgo AddiE
Iilrossed to Governor Slifflin (Pa. Ar-
i<l. " lienj.iiiiili "Wells, so fiir as I have
iil.Tiiplilili' iind unworthy man, wlioni,
i\ \MiiiM never wish to see in any office
i .M;,iHc" Bnt it should I'e reniarlied
i Wells.
THE WHISKEY INSURRECTION.
101
only dared to show their respect for the hiws of their
country." ' j
Another outrage was committed in AVasliington
County, in the month of October of the same year,
on the person of Robert Wilson, who was not an ex-
cise officer, but a young schoolmaster who was look-
ing for employment, and carried with him very
reputable testimonials of his character." - It was
supposed that lie was a little disordered in his intel-
lect, and having, unfortunately for himself, made
some inquiries concerning stills and distillers, and
acted in a mysterious manner otherwise, he was sus-
pected of being in the service of the government.
On this account he " was pursued by a party of men
in disguise, taken out of his bed, carried about five
miles back to a smith's shop, stripped of his clothes,
which were afterwards burnt, and having been inhu-
manly burnt in several places with a heated iron, was
tarred and feathered, and about daylight dismissed,
naked, wounded, and in a very pitiable and suffering
condition. These particulars were communicated in
a letter from the inspector of the revenue of the 17th
of November, who declared that he had then himself
seen the unfortunate maniac, the abuse of whom, as
he e.xpressed it, exceeded description, and was suffi-
cent to make human nature shudder. . . . The
symptoms of insanity were during the whole time of
intlicting the punishment apparent, the unhappy
sufferer displaying the heroic fortitude of a man who
conceived himself to be a martyr to the discharge of
some important duty."^ For participation in this
outrage Col. Samuel Wilson, Samuel Johnson, James 1
Wright, William Tucker, and John Moffit were in-
dicted at the December Sessions, 1791 ; but before the
offenders were taken upon the process of the court,*
the victim, Wilson (probably through fear of further
outrage), left that part of the country,^ and at the
June Sessions, 1792, the indicted persons were dis-
charged.
The demonstrations above mentioned comprise all
of the more notable acts of violence which were done
in these counties by the opponents of the law during
the first year of its existence. On the 8th of May,
1702, Congress passed an act making material changes
in the excise law, among these being a reduction of
about one-fourth in the duty on whiskey, and giving
tlie distiller the alternative of paying a monthly in-
stead of a yearly rate, according to the capacity of
his still, with liberty to take a license for the precise
1 Pii. Archives, 2d Series, vol. iv. p. S8.
! Letter of James Brison, of Allegliony, to Governor Mifflin, J:\ted
IV. 9, 1792.— Pa. Archk-ei, 2cl Series, vol. iv. pp. 44, 4.3.
1 Report of the Secret.lly of tlie Treasury ; Pa. Archives, 2d Sei i( s, vol.
* Pa. Archives, Brison's letter, before quoted.
^ '* Tlie audacity of the perpetrators of these excesses was so great that
armed banditti ventured to seize and curry off two pei-sons who were
tnepses against the riotei-s in ihe case of 'Wilsou, in order to prevent
eir giving testimony of the riot to a court then sitting or about to
."—Almnukr llnmiUoii to Prcsklent WiiMiiglm ; Pii. Jrch , iv., p. SO.
term which he should intend to work it, and to renew
that license for a further term or terms. This pro-
vision was regarded as peculiarly favorable to the
western section of the State, where very few of the
distillers wished to prosecute their business during
the summer. "The effect has in a gre.it measure,"
said Hamilton, in 1794, " corresponded with the views
of the Legislature. Opposition has subsided in sev-
eral districts where it before prevailed," and it was
natural to entertain, and not easy to abandon, a hope
that the same thing would, by degrees, have taken
place in the four western counties of the State."
But this hope was not realized. The modifications
made in the law, favorable as they had been thought
to be to the western counties, did not produce acqui-
escence and submission among the people of this sec-
tion. On the 21st and 22d days of August next fol-
lowing the passage of the modified law there was
held at Pittsburgh " a Meeting of sundry Inhabitants
of the Western Counties of Pennsylvania," the pro-
ceedings of which plainly indicated that the ieeling
of opposition had not been lessened, but rather inten-
sified. At that meeting there were present the fol-
lowing-named delegates from the western counties,
viz.: Edward Cook, Albert Gallatin, John Smilic,
Bazil Bowel, Thomas Gaddis, John McClellan, John
Canon, William Wallace, Shesbazer Bentley, Benja-
min Parkinson, John Husy, John Badollet, Joh;i
Hamilton, Neal Gillespie, David Bradford, Rev.
David Phillips, Matthew Jamison, James Marshall,
James Robinson, James Stewart, Robert MeClurc,
Peter Lyie, Alexander Long, and Samuel Wilson.
The persons composiiiLr ihi-- iiiiMtiiii; were, in general,
men of ability and iiilluinrc, ami in this particular
the Fayette delegation iciniiiiri-inu- the first six named
in the above list) surpassed those from the other
counties.
The meeting was organized by the choice of Col.
John Canon as chairman, and Albert Gallatin, of
Fayette County, as clerk. The subject of the excise
law was then " taken under consideration and freely
debated ; a committee of five members was appointed
to prepare a draft of Resolutions expressing the sense
of the Meeting on the subject of said Law;" and on
the second day the resolutions were reported, de-
bated, and adopted unanimously. After a preamble
denouncing the excise law as unjust in itself, opprcs»
sive upon the poor, and tending to Iiriug imnic'diate
distress and ruin on the western country, and dcchir-
iug it to be their duty" to persist in remonstrances to
Congress, and every other legal measure to obstruct
the operation of the law, the resolutions proceeded,
first, to appoint a committee to prepare and cause to
be presented to Congress an .address, stating objec-
tions to the law, and praying for its repeal ; secondly,
'Opposition to the law of 1791 was violent, not only in the "four
western counties" of Fayette, Westmoreland, Washington, and Alle-
gheny, b\it also in several other counties of the State, notably Chest( r,
Bedford, Bucks, and Northumberland.
162
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
to appoint committees of correspondence for Wash-
ington, Fayette, and Alleglieny, charged with the
duty of corresponding together, and with such com-
mittee as should be appointed for the same purpose
in Westmoreland, or with any committees of a simi-
lar nature from other parts of the Union. The com-
mittees appointed for this purpose for the three coun-
ties named were composed of the following-named
persons, viz. : Thomas Gaddis, Andrew Rabb, John
Oliphant, Robert McClure, James Stewart, William
Wallace, John Hamilton, Sliesbazer Bentley, Isaac
Weaver, Benjamin Parkinson, David Redick, Thomas
Str)kcly, Stephen Ga|:ien, Joseph Vanmeter, Alexan-
der Long, William Whiteside, James Long, Benjamin
Patterson, Samuel Johnston, William Plummer, and
Matthew Jameson.
The final declaration of the meeting was to tlie
effect that, " Whereas, some men may be found
amongst us so far lost to every sense of virtue and
feeling for the distresses of this country as to accept
ofiices for the collection of the duty, Resolved, there-
fore, that in future we will coii-Mii- siirli [icrsons as
dealings willi tliein ; u'UIidrau: from thciii e eery assist-
ance, and withhold all the comforts of life tohich depend
upon those duties that a^ men and fellow-citizens we owe
to each other; and upon all ofri<in„s t,-::,if f hem with
that contempt they deserve ; and //i ii it In- n-nl it in hereby
most earnestly recommended to tin pr^.p^ ,ii l^irije tofol-
loir the same line of conduct Ininiiul.^ fin m."
It is difficult to undiTstaml Imw men of character
and good standing, such as were a niajnrity of those
composing the Pittsburgh meeting, could have given
their assent 'to the passage of these extreme resolu-
tions. They were aimed in a general way (as appears
on their face) at all wlm might be even remotely con-
cerned on the siile nf tlju gnvernment in the collection
of the revenue, but in particular, and more than all,
at Gen. J..I111 Xcvillr. a-ainst wli.ini no rliarge could
be broiiul.t. .x.-.-pt that he liad <larud to aexept in-
spectorship (if thr 'Western Revenue District.
A lew <lays L.-lDie the holding of the Pittsburgh
mectini;. an iiu'.raL;e had been committed upon Capt.
William faulkiiei-. ,>f the United States army, who
had permitted his Inane in Washington (.'.unity U> be
used as an in-peeti..n-(,lliee. lieing out in pursuit of
deserters in the same nei-hliorhood where Johnson
was maltreated in the |)ieviiius autumn, he was en-
countered by a iiunilier c,|' disguised men, who re-
jjroached hihi with liaviiiL' let liis house to the govern-
ment officers, drew a knife on him, threatened toscalp
him, tar and feather him, and burn his house if he
did not solemidy jiromise to prevent all further use
of it as an inspection-office. He was induced by
their threats to make the promise demanded, and on
the 21stof August gave public notice in the Pitt-^hiiryh
Gazette that the office of the inspector should no
longer be kept at his house.
On receiving intelligence of this occurrence, as also
of the proceedings of the Pittsburgh meeting, the Sec-
retary of the Treasury reported the facts to President
j Washington, wdio thereupon, on the 15th of Septem-
j her, 1792, issued a proclamation admonishing all per-
I sons to refrain and desist from all unlawful combina-
tions and proceedings whatsoever having for their
; object, or tending, to obstruct the operation of the
laws, declaring it to be the determination of the
government to bring to justice all infractors of the
law, to prosecute delinquents, to seize all unexcised
spirits on their way to market, and to make no pur-
j chases of spirits for the army except of such as had
paid the duty.
I A supervisor of the revenue was sent into the
western counties immediately afterwards to gain ac-
curate information of and report on the true state of
affiiirs; but his mission "had no other fruit than that
of obtaining evidence of the persons who composed
the meeting at Pittsburgh, and two of those who were
understood to be concerned in the riot [against Capt.
Faulkner], and a confirmation of the enmity which
certain active and designing leaders had industriously
infused into a large proportion of the inhabitants,
not against the particular laws in question only, but of a
more ancient date against the government of the United
States itself" '■
In the following April (1793) a party of men, armed
and disguised, made an attack upon the house of Ben-
jamin Wells, who was then collector of revenue for
Fayette and Westmoreland Counties. His house,
which stood on the west side of the Youghiogheny
River, opposite the present borough of Connellsville,
was visited in the night by these rioters, who, having
forced an entrance, finding that Wells was absent,
contented themselves with threatening, terrifying,
and abusing his family, without proceeding to any
further outrage. Warrants for the apprehension of
several of these rioters^ were issued by Justices Isaac
Meason and James Finley, and placed in the hands
of the sheriff of Fayette, Joseph Huston, who, how-
ever, refused or neglected to serve them, and was
therefore indicted in the Circuit Court.
A second attack was made on the house of Wells,
the collector, in the night of the 22d of November by
a body of men all armed and in disguise.^ They broke
and entered the house, and demanded a surrender of
the officer's commission and official books, and upon
upon tlie house of a collector of tlio revenue in F.iyetto
County; pr.
cesse.s issued against tliein also to brins tlii-m to liial, a
.1 if guilty, t
pniiislmient."— Ho.n.Vfoi. lo Presid ii( WuMiialou, Aufj.5,
1794; Pa. A
f.,j). 100.
THE WHISKEY IxXSUllIlECTION.
1G3
his refusal to deliver them up they threatened him,
with i)istols presented at his head, and swore that ifhe
(lid not comply they would instantly put him to
death. By this means they forced him to surrender
his books and commission, and not content with this,
the rioters, before they left the premises, compelled
Wells to promise that he would, within two weeks,
publish his resignation. It does not appear, however,
that Wells did resign his office at that time, for he
certainly held it in the following year, and was then
an object of peculiar hatred to the opponents of the
law.'
"At last March [1794] Court, in Fayette County,"
said Judge Addison, " in a publick company at din-
ner in the tavern where I lodged, some of the most
respectablegentlemenof that county, and most strenu-
ously opposed to the Excise law, proposed that a
meeting of the inhabitants of that county should be
called, in which it should be agreed that they would
all enter their stills, provided Benjamin Wells was
removed from office, and some honest and reputable
man appointed in his stead. I will not say that these
are the words, but I know it is the amount of the
conversation." This was written by the judge in a
letter addressed to Governor Mifflin, dated Washing-
ton, May 12, 1794.^ In a reply to that letter, written by
Secretary Dallas,^ on behalf of the Governor, he says,
" The truth is that such general dissatisfaction has
been expressed with respect to Wells that, for the sake
of the western counties, as well as for the sake of the
General Government, it was thought advisable to
transmit all the information that could be collected
on the subject to the President, and the extract from
your letter . . . made a part of the documents."
Finally, about the 1st of July, 1794, the rioters de-
stroyed Wells' house and forced him to vacate his
office, the circumstances being as follows : The ex-
cise-otfice for Westmoreland County had been opened
in the house of Philip Eeagan, whereupon an attack
was soon after made upon it by the insurgents. This
attack had been expected by the owner of the house
(Reagan), who had accordingly prepared for it with
a guard of two or three armed men. When the as-
sailing-party approached they were fired on by Rea-
gan's party, among whom was John Wells,' son of
1 "Andrew Robb [liiiM.]. a .lnsli:-(. nf tho pc:u<% stau.ls ilinigcil li.v in-
with having ofFeri'fl I i : I ; i I ,~ c .ri,
tliG infornmtion I'f t)i,' -ii.l ( ' ii..imi /- i • .-.,,.,,/ ,,^,,
2S8; Lellerof Aleimi.hr lluinlloit l„ 7V.m.!™( W„>hi,„jl.in.
2 Pil. Alcll., iv,, p. 03.
3 Ibiil, p. 04.
* In tlic nccounts which havu bpou ns^l.^lly given cf thi< .iffnir, .T..hM
"Wells has been nientiuned as tlie collector for W'fstiiiinrl.unl, .unl iljc
time of the final abandonment of ]te;)gan'& Iiouso u- :iii . \.- Hi. r ;,.;
being in the month of .Tune; bnt both those stalpnirnr, ., . ,ii.|,t ,,, ,,1
by the report oC the Secretary of the Treasury to Ti. -i I ,' w i-:,m. i i,
ilatril Aug.5,1794 (Pa. Archives, 2.1 series, iv., «n. i ', '. >,
" .Tune being the month for receiving annual entri.-' >: ■
were used lo open offices in Westmoreland and W.l-Im i,_-r .',, ^^^ . n
had bilherto been fviund impracticable. With mucli |iali]s ami .1 Iflcully
Benjamin Wells, of Fayette, and deputy collector
under him. The fire was returned, but without
effect on either side. Then the party set fire to
Reagan's barn, and having burned it to the ground,
moved off without making further depredation. In
a day or two a much larger party of assailants
(numbering about one hundred and fifty men) ap-
peared at Reagan's, and he, knowing the folly of
attempting to resist so large a force, and wishing
to avoid the shedding of blood, consented to capit-
ulate, provided they would give him assurances
that they would not destroy his property nor abuse
him or his family. This was agreed to, with the con-
dition that his house should no more be used as an
excise-office, and that John Wells should agree and
promise never again to act as an officer for the collec-
tion of the excise duty. The stipulations were reduced
to writing and signed by the jjarties. The house was
then thrown open, and Eeagan produced a keg of
whiskey, from which he "treated" the assailants.
But after they had drank the whiskey they began to
grow more belligerent, and some of them said that
Reagan had been let off altogether too easily, and
that he ought to bo set up as a target to be shot at.
Some of them proposed that he be tarred and feath-
ered, but others strongly ojiposed this, and took Rea-
gan's part, saying that he had acted in a fair and
manly way, and that they were bound in honor to
treat him well after having agreed to do so as a con-
dition to the surrender. Then they drank more
whiske>and fell to quarreling among themselves, and
the proposition was made to " court-martial" Reagan,
and to inarch him to the house of Benjaniin Welh,
in Fayette County, and try them liotli to^rllier. This
suggestion was immediately acted on, and the paily
iiioveil towards Struart's Cn.-in--, taking Keagan
with iheiii. Aniviii-at W.l Uli. .ii-c they found that
111- was aliseiit, and in llnir di-a|.|iniiitiiient and anger
on his return,— a design which they effected in the
following morning. On making him prisoner they
demanded of him that he resign his commission as
collector, and pioiiiise to accept no office under the
excise law in tlic fauire. These demands were made
as the eundilidns du which his life and safety de-
pinded. He accepted them and submitted to all
their requirements, upon wdiich they desisted from
all further ill treatment and liberated him. This
was the end of his career as an excise-officer. He
afterwards removed to the other side of the river (at
Connellsville) and made his residence there.
164
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Soon after the destruction of Wells' house by the |
insurgents, a United States officer came into Fayette
County to serve proecises against a number of non-
foniplyinn- distillers, and also against Robert Smilie
and Jcilin M.eCullocii, two persons charged with par-
tiei|iatioii in the riotous attack on the house of Col- i
lector Wrlls ill thr previous November. "The mar- !
shal of the ili-tii.t." said Secretary Hunilton,' "went
in person tn snvc these processes. He executed liis
trust witliout interruption, though under many dis-
couraging rircuinstauces, in Fayette County;- but
while he was in the execution of it in Allegheny
County, h.ini:- then accompanied by tin- ins|ieitor of
the rcvcnnr liUjn. Xeville), to wit, on tlir l-',tli ..fJuly
last 1 17V4 I, he was beset on the mad by a party of from
thirty to forty armed men, wlm al'tur nun li irregularity
of conduct hnally tired on him, Imt, as it liappened,
without injury citlier to him (jr to tlie inspector."
Tlie attack on tiie marshal and Gen. Neville, how-
ever, ;uMved t.. lie but the prelude to one cf the most
daring outrages tliat were ci>mmitted during the con-
tinuance of tlie insurrection. The disalfectiMl p.-ople
panying the niar>lial to as-ist in serving llir |m-occss,.s,
].iloting Ilia, to tlir lionios of his vi.-tini-, as tliry
s.iid. ( >a this arcouiit tlic fa-ling agaiii>t liiiii became
very intense and bitter.
On the day next following tlie attack on the mar-
shal and inspector (July Kith i, at daylircak, " in eon-
some time entertained, and wbicli was prob:J.]y only
accelerated by the coming of tlic mai-.hal into the
survey, an attack liy aliout one liundr.d piT^ons armed
of the inspector (Nevillei, in tie- vicinity of Pitts-
burgh. The inspector, though alono, vigoiou-ly dr-
fended himself .against the a<-ailants, and ol.'ligrd
them to retreat without acruinplisliing their ].urpose."'
They had only ],ost|,oned, and not aLandoned, the
execution of liieir [dan^. l >n the following .lav lliev
rcassenil.led in augmented nnml.ers, anionntii,^-, a's
it wa. -aid. to folly tlve hundred, and on the 17tl, of
July renew, -d their attack on (ien. .Xeviile'- leai-e,
whicli was tluai del'endcd by a detachnnait of eleven
thatatterall'jhtofaboutan hour's .Inration. in wlii,di
,,ne of the iii-ui-,Ht- »a- killed and several wounded,
wliih- three of ih.' ].er s in the liouse were als,,
w„unded. the del-ending pally snrreii.lcrcd, and the in-
surgents then burned the Imuim' to the ground, t.i^ether
witli all the onihnihlinu-. oeeasioning a lo.. ,,f more
than twelve thousanil dollars. ( ien. Neville had left the
house before the commencement of the firing, and had
sought a place of concealment at a distance, wisely
concluding that this nas the only way to save his life.
On the night of the 19th of July he with the marshal
who had come to .serve the processes (having been re-
peatedly threatened with death at the hands of the
insurgents, and finding that no protection wa-s to be
expected from the magistrates or inhabitants of Pitts-
burgh) made their escape from tlie place, fled down
the Ohio, and proceeded to the East by a circuitous
way, the usual routes over the mountains being known
to be beset by their enemies.
On the 25th of July the United States mail, near
Greensburg, on the road from Pittsburgh to Philadel-
phia, was stopped by two armed men, wdio cut open
the pouch and abstracted all the letters except those
contained in one package. In connection with this
circumstance, it is proper to notice a circular addressed
by ( 'ol. John Canon, David Bradford, Beiijamin Park-
iiisim, and others to the militia officers of the counties,
dated July 28, 1794, as follows:
"Sir, — Having had suspicions that the Pittsburgh
post would carry with him the sentiments of some of
tlie ])Cople in the country respecting our present situ-
ation, ami the letters by the post being now in our pos-
x'-asiiin. by which certain secrets are discovered hostile
to our interest, it is therefore now come to that crisis
that every citizen ninst express his sentiments, not by
his words, hut by his actions. You are then called
upon as a citizen of the western country to render
your personal service, with as many volunteers as you
can raise, to rendezvous at your usual place of meet-
ing ou Wednesday next, and thence you will march
to the usual placeof rendezvous at Braddock's Field,'
on the Monongahela, on Friday, the first day of Au-
gust next, to be there at two o'clock in the afternoon,
with arms and aeeoutrenients in good order. If any
voluuteci's shall want arms and ammunition, bring
them forward, and they shall be supplied as well as
possible. Here, sir, is an expedition proposed in
wdiich you will have an opportunity of displaying
your military talents, and of rendering service to your
country. Four days' provisions will be wanted ; let
the men be thus supplied."
?dany id' the militia officers o'beyed the directions
contained in the circular, and marched their men to the
appointi'd rendezvous. Witli reference to the readi-
ness ills;. hived by officers and soldiers to obey these
orders, emanating as they did from no responsible au-
thority. Judge Addison said that in consequence of
the danger of Indian incursions having often ren-
dered it necessary in this region to assemble the mili-
tary force without waiting for orders from the govern
ment, " it had become habitual with the militia of
these counties to assemble at the call of their officers,
without inquiring into the authority or object of the
Brad.lncli's Field \
tlio plu
THE WHISKEY INSURRECTION.
IGJ
call." This habit, well known to the contrivers of
the rendezvous at Braddock's Field, rendered the exe-
cution of their plan an easy matter. They issued
their orders to the officers of the militia, wjio as-
sembled their men, accustomed to obey orders of this
kind given on the sudden and without authority.
The militia came together without knowing from
whom tlie orders originated, or for what purpose they
met. And when met it was easy to communicate
from breast to breast more or less of the popular
frenzy, till all felt it or found it prudent to dissemble
and feign that they felt it."
At Braddock's Field, on the appointed day, there
gathered a. vast and wildly e.xcited assemblage, of
which a good proportion was composed of militiamen
and volunteers under arms. Fayette County was
sulli^'iently represented on the field,' though the num-
ber from this was less than from either Washington,
Allegheny, or Westmoreland. Among the great
throng of persons assembled there, very few were fa-
TOrable to the government and to the execution of the
law. Such as were there of this class had come to
the rendezvous lest their absence might be made a
cause for proscription.^ But they were compelled,
out of regard for their personal safety, to conceal their
real sentiments ; and some of them had even assumed
the rule of leaders, for the purpose (as they said after-
wards when the insurrection had been crushed) of
gaining the confidence of the disaffected multitude,
and then by organization and judicious management
to restrain them from proceeding to outrage and re-
bellion. The Hon. Hugh H. Brackenridge was one
of these, and there were some among the Fayette
County leaders, whose course with regard to the in-
surrection has been similarly explained. Tiierc were
also present at Braddock's Field on the occasion re-
ferred to some who went there merely as spectators,
without any strong feeling on cither side ; but by far
the greater part were in full syniiiathy wiih tlio in-
surgent cause, though probably tcv of tlnin Iim^I any
very definite idea of the object of the meeting othrv
than to denounce excise-officers and the government,
and to shout in wild acclaim, huzzahs for To:u the
Tinker.'
As the rendezvous was but a few miles from Pitts-
burgh, the people of that place were greatly alarmed
lest the company assembled at Braddock's Field
should, at the instigation of their leaders, march on
the town and destroy it, in a spirit of revenge against
a number of officers and friends of the gcvernmcnt
who lived there. A meeting of the inhabitants of the
town had been held on the evening before the day of
the rendezvous, at which "a great majority — almost
the wh(;>Ie of the inhabitants of the town — assembled."
It was announced to this meeting that a committee
from Washington was present, bearing a message to
the meeting. A committee of three was appointed to
confer with the committee from Washington, and
after their conference they reported " that in conse-
quence of certain letters sent by the last mail, certain
persons were discovered as advocates of the excise
law and enemies to the interest of the country, and
that Edward Day, James Brison, and Abraham Kirk-
patrick are particularly obnoxious, and that it is ex-
pected by the country that they should be dismissed
without delay; AVhereupon it was resolved it should
be so done, and a committee of twenty-one was ap-
pointed to see this resolution carried into effect. Also
that, whereas it is a part of the message from the gen-
tlemen from Washington that a great body of the
people of the county will meet to-morrow at Brad-
dock's Field, in ciidir (o cnny into eli'cct measures
that may seem Ui them :i'h i-alile uitli respect to the
excise law and (lie advocates of it, Resolved, Tiiat
the above cuinniittcr shall at an early hour wait upon
the people un the ground, and assure the people that
the above resolution, with respect to the proscribed
puuty at Bi'iuMock's yielil on tlmt diiy,
|)rubal>le wliou it is reiiKjiiibured tlittt
uf tho pniuiiiieiit JeadLM-s of iiisun-ec-
" This Tom tlie Tiiilipr," say9.Indg:e T.ubenjxier, " wns a new jxod :idded to
pniylli<.lri-y;,tlliistiinv,!Uidw.iSMililioacdt..|>rp>idL-over«liiskey-5lills
I -t HI --. \VI v,.,-..l V liuii;,lip.l 111- T til.. T.nK.T W,i».if
Toijisi
t llio I
I>hyai
ciuo unless liis principles v
have gut no practice witliout
law, nor ctnild a morcliant i
trajy, to talk against the law
go to the Legislatnre or to I
It Wiis the Sliili!,ol,-IJi of safet
ally for |
'poses of I
ir.6
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
persons, has been carried into effect. Resolved also,
That the inhabitants of the town shall march out and
join the people on Braddock's Field, as brethren, to
carry into effect witli them any measures that ma}'
socm advisable for the common cause."
The Pittsburgh committee appointed at the meeting
above mentioned reported to the leaders at Brad-
dock's Field the resolutions which had been adopted,
and that in pursuance of those resolutions some of
the men most objectionable to the insurgents, viz. :
Edward Day, James Brison, Abraham Kirkpatrick,
and Col. Presley Neville, had been driven from the
town and had fled down the Ohio. This liad been
done in deference to the demands of "Tom the
Tinker," and the committee's announcement w.as
made to the assenililaL'C in the hope of dissuading the
leaders from u.ovinir thr lorees into the town; but it
failed to have tlie desired effect, though it probably
eurlied their excesses to a great extent.
One of the most prominent of the leaders of the
insurgents was Col. David Bradford, of Washington,
who at the meeting (or more properly muster) at
Braddock's Field made the proiiosition to march to
Pittshnri;h and attack tlic garris.m stationed there.
This |ini|iosition was warmly entcitained by the more
hot-]iead,.l, but was finMly abandoned. "Bradford,
hou-ev.T. iii-i-t.Ml tliai the militia and vohmteers
should Ih> iiiMivlird to t'.ie town, and iti tliis hr was
in opposition to tlie proji'ct, fniinivril the idea of
guiding and controlling- the lawlr-; movcnent by ap-
parent ar(|uiescence. " "^'c^.' >aid he, "hy all means
let us i;'(i, it' fir no other rea-on than to L:ive a proof
tlie strictest order, an.! of reli'aiiiiiiL' Irom all excesses.
Let us march thrni;:li the town, nui-tei- on the banks
people, and then move the troops across the river."
The jilan wa< adopteil. Officers were appointed, —
David r.radlord and Edward Cook, generals, and Col.
Gabriel lihikency, officer of the day, — and under their
command the entire lio.Iy niuved over tin- Mononga-
hela road to Pittsburgh. ( In their arrival tlicre, tliey
were reeeived a^ the gu.--l~ „( the town, or rather as |
the gue.t^ ..f the prineipal eiti/en^-, who by a little '
/;i«sv', alter treating them Ireelv tn li,,u ir, succeeded '
in indnein- tli.' main l.odv t,. en.... the Mn,i,,n-ahela
without d .in_' a IV •hmv.vi-. U;i reaehin- the -..till,
Maj.Kirkpalrielcn:, the I. liifr.,pi.o.ite Pitt-burgh,. and
succeeded ill d ■^•r ivin- his barn at that place, though |
the dwellin- was savetl. Meanwhile a part of the
men not included in the 1> .ilv whii-li had been enticed
across the M m oniraliida lia.l heeime somewhat riotous
in Pitt-linr_di, and set tire to the town residence of '
Maj. Kiilq.atriek. It had been their intention to de-
stroy hi- h.,n-e, ,a- well as those nf Neville, Gibson, I
and others, but the consummation (if this design had
been prevented largely by the interference of Col. -
Edward Cook, of Fayette County,' and Bradford, of
Washington, two of the principal leaders. If they
had succeeded in doing this, there is little duubt that
the principal part of the town would have been burned.
An account of the turbulent proceedings at Brad-
dock's Field and Pittsburgh was forwarded without
delay to the State and natiooal authorities, and on the
7th of August the Presideut of the United States issued
a proclamation, reciting in its preamble that " combi-
nations to defeat the execution of the laws layim:
duties upon spirits distilled within the United State-,
and upon stills, have from the time of the commence-
ment of those laws existed in some of the western
parts of Pennsylvania, . . . that many persons in the
said western parts of Pennsylvania have at length
been hardy enough to perpetrate acts wdiich I am ad-
vised amount to tre.ason, being overt acts of levyiiiL'
war against the United States ;" and commanding " all
persons being insurgents, as aforesaid, and all other,-
wdiom it may concern," to disperse and retire peace-
ably to their re.spective abodes on or before the 1st ot
September following ; moreover, warning all persons
" against aiding, abetting, or comforting the perpe-
trators of the aforesaid treasonable acts, and requiring
all officers and other citizens, according to their
respective duties and the laws of the land, to exert
their utmost endeavors to prevent and suppress such
dangerous proceedings." At the same time the Presi-
dent called for troops to be raised and equipped in
the States of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and
New Jersey, and to be held in readiness to march at
shortest notice, for tlie purpose of suppressing thf
insurrection and enforcing the law. The quotas ov
the States were assigned as follows : j
rcnnsvh-anii
New .jcrfcy.
Marvliind....
On the same day Governor Mifflin, of Pennsylvania
issued his proclamation directing that the State's quot:
of men be armed and equipped as speedily as pos
sible, " and to be held in readiness to march at a mo
ment'.s warning," and a second proclamation wa
1 e 1 mil- tii[- .i[;,iii , i; .■ I. ill i\\ ing card was piiljlislie'l in iln- Vitt-
'- I.', ■\^. i I,' -,, 1, oil belialforoursi-lM- e.,1 111
^!. ,1 I I ' , : ;, .! hill from Braddock':? fi I n 11
lie no authority for carrying tliein into effect. Wo consider it as
blemish on tlie good order of the marcli uf the colnnin tlirongli tliotnw
of Pittdbnrgli aiu! their cantonment in the neighborhood of it. It h:
been endeavored to be removed as much as posditdo b.v repaying. tii
tenant of Kirkpatrick's his damages." The signatnres to this card t
e.xpl.inntion und disclaimer were headed by that of Ed\v,",rd Cook, <
Fayette County, wlilch was followed by lho.se of fourteen otliers, a
prominent leaders in tlic insurrectionary movement.
THE WHISKEY INSURRECTION.
167
issued, calling together the Assembly of the State in
special session. Previously (on the 6th of August)
the Governor had appointed Chief Justice McKean
and Gen. William Irvine to proceed immediately to
the disaffected counties, to ascertain the facts in refer-
ence to the recent acts of violence and lawless gather-
ings, and, if practicable, to induce tlie people to sub-
mit to the law.
The President, on the day next following the
issuance of his proclamation, appointed James Ross,
Tiiilcil States senator, Jasper Yeates, associate
jiiiliir Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and William
lliaaiord, Attorney-General of the United States,
r.iiiiiiiissioners on the part of the United States, with
full instructions and ample powers, to repair forth-
with to the western counties, for the purpose of con-
ferring, at their discretion, with individuals or bodies
of men, "in order to quiet and extinguish the insur-
rection."
Before the great demonstration at Braddock's Field,
the anti-excise leaders issued a call (in the latter part
of July') for a meeting of delegates from the western
counties, to meet at Parkinson's Ferry, on the Monon-
gahela (now Monongahela City), "to take into con-
sideration the situation of the western country." And
from the muster-place at Braddock's Field, Col.
(Maj.-Gen.) David Bradford issued the following cir-
cular :
To the Inhabitants of Monnnfjahda, Virginia :
" Gextlemex,— I presume you have heard of the
spirited opposition given to the excise law in this
State. Matters have been so brought to pass here
that all are under the necessity of bringing their
minds to a final conclusion. This has been the ques-
tion amongst us some days, 'Shall wf> disapprove
of the conduct of those engaged aiiniiist Nc-.illc, the
excise-officer, or approve?' Or, in ullici- wiuds, 'Shall
we suffer them to fall asacrifice to Ft'ileial prisccutiun,
or shall we support them?' On the result of this
business we have fully deliberated, and have deter-
mined, with head, heart, hand, and voice, that we
will support the opposition to the excise law. The
crisis is now come, submission or opposition: we are
determined in the opposition. We are determined
I in future to act agreeably to sj'stem ; to form ar-
!rangements guided by reason, prudence, fortitude,
land spirited conduct. We have piii|i(psr(i a ircnural
meeting of the four counties df rcnn-ylvania, and
have invited our brethren in the lu/iuhlMiiinii rouiitios
in Virginia to come forward and join us in council
and deliberation in this important crisis, and conclude
upon measures interesting to the western counties of
Pennsylvania and Virginia. A notification of this
>At tlio meeting of tlie inliabitaiils of rittsl.uigli, lu'l.l .Inly :ilst, it
WAS rofjolveil that wlieiea^a geiuT.iI 111 ■III. _ : .1 _ .1 - li in i In' tuwii-
Bllipsof the country west uf tin III III I - ' ' ; ■ I'l 1 Kiiisoti's
Fftry on llie 14tU of August 111 X . M.eap-
puinteil t.i thiit uieelhig, and tliat ili- 'Hi. I Aii^u-t 1.. nij. ihlnl for a
kind may be seen in the Pittsburgh paper. Parkin-
son's Ferry is the place proposed as the most central,
and the 14th of August the time. We solicit you by
all the tics that an union of interests can suggest to
come forward and join us in our deliberations. The
cause is common to us all. We invite you to come,
even should you differ with us in opinion. We wish
you to hear our reasons influencing our conduct."
The events of the first two days of August at Brad-
dock's Field and Pittsburgh and of the two or three suc-
ceeding weeks, seemed to mark the culmination of the
popular frenzy on the subject of the excise law, and
from the loth of July to the last of August was the
period of the greatest excitement that exhibited itself
during the insurrection. During the interval of time
between the great muster at Braddock's and the day
appointed for the meeting at Parkinson's Ferry, great
numbers of " liberty-poles" were erected by the in-
surgents in various parts of the four counties, and
upon these were hoisted flags, bcarinu' such inscrip-
tions as "Death to Teaitoks." " i.ii;i:i;TY and
NO Excise." Few persons were foiinil lianly enough
to refuse assisiancc in the erection of these i)olcs, for
to do so was til lie liraiiilcd as an enemy to the cause,
j and a fit suljc<-t l..r the veii-canceof Tom the Tinker.
i A number of these " lil.erty-|..,les- weie raised in
i Fayette County. One was at New Salem, one at
Xew Geneva, one at :\Iasiintown, on which a very
beautiful silk flag was raised. One was at the old
I'ninn Furnace, in Dunbar township, and one at the
I market-hiinse, in Uniontown. At the raising of this
pole, about one hundred men under command of Capt.
Kobert Ross came in from German (now Nicholson)
tiiwnsliip to assist. Another pole was raised on the
MdiL'antiiw 11 road south of Uniontown, on the farm
of Thonias ( iaddis, who was of the principal leaders
of the whijkey boys in this county. The pole at this
place and the one in Uniontown were cut down by
Gen. Ephraim Douglass in defiance of all threats and
intimidation. That which had been erected at New
Geneva met the same fixte at the hands of Mrs. Eliza-
beth Everhart (wife of Adolph Everhart) and two or
three other women of equal determination. The
others named stood bearing their threatening flags
! and inscriptions until the tide of insurrection began
to turn before the menace of military force, and then
thnsc who had raised them were glad cnougli to see
them fall, and to deny all agency in their erection.
On the 14th of August, according to appointment,
the meeting of the delegates was opened at Parkin-
son's Ferry. The proclamations of the President and
of Governor Mifflin had not been received. Neither
the commissioners for the State nor those for the
United States had made their appearance, but intel-
ligence came during the progress of the meeting, that
the two delegations were on their way from Philadel-
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
]iliia, anil that two of the United States commissioners
had just arrived at Greeusburg. '
The first ccromony performed at Parkinson's was
the erecting of a tall "liberty-pole," and the hoisting
of a flag bearing tlie inseriptimi, " Eipial Taxation and
no Excise.— Xo Asylum, li.r Traitors and Cowards."
Twohuiidrrd an.l twculy-six delr-:ilrs wriv |.iv,-eiit
fniiii t..wii-!.i|i- ill Fayrli,., \Vr~;.i„,ivl:i)nl, All.-l-c:iy,
WaslLiugtMii. aii.l that part , f Ik.lfMpi lying we^t nf the
Allcglieny Mnimtaiiis, uiih a few from Ohio County,
Va. Till- iiKM'tiiig was iirganized by the appointment
of Cnl. Ivlwanl (/unk aiKl the Hon. Albert Gallatin,
both of Favctt.' ( ■..untv. rrspectivrlv as rhainnan and
see
bei
with a numberof the leaders, begun tn -it a-ain-t the
adoption of violent measures. It wa- ilainai tbr
some of those who at tliLs meeting (1,'\ I'lMi.t-il a .-trung
oppositinii to tlie jilans of Bradfunl :mil .itlur ex-
tremists, that their course was prompt. ■.! l,y thi' same
desire which had at first induced tlnii; to range them-
selves r.m ing the disaffejted,— that of a; praring to as-
sume leadership for the inirposo ol rurMai: the hiw-
less element and diverting its energi.'s from" the track
leading to opm v.olrnco and rebeilion. Ikit there is
little lii.uM tliat their action at thi^ time was in no
small (h.-r.r ,lu - to i],,ir late r.,ali/,ation of the lact
that llu- I'nio.l S:a:i- govomima.l had revalvial t.,
l>ut doiv:, I ,ul, '-.-;..- at whatever e ,-t, that it would
exert all it- pow.r-, if necessary, to enforce obedience,
and that a~ again-t that pow-crthe cause of the insur-
A series of strong re- -In^ons was ititrolm-ed by
Cul, Jame- Marshal, of Waslij.,-;.;!. an 1 -u;.;. .rted
in an inte.np.n-ate >iK-re]i liy Ih-adtord, who w.is re-
plied to in opposition by All.erl Calla.in, .luluv
Brackenridiic, Jml-v Edirar, of Wa-l.in-lo;,, and
ith variou-
ities
•^-. I''
tlie excise law. Tliey were also " to have power to
call together a meeting, either of a new representa-
tion of the i^eople or of the deputies here convened,
for the purjiose of taking such further measures as
the future situation of affairs may repiir.-: :uid in
case of any sudden emergency, to take such tem|io-
rary measures as they may think necessary." The
closing resolution was to this effect, " That a com-
mittee, to consist of three members from each county,
be appointed to meet any commissioners that
been or may be appointed by the government, and
report the result of this conference to the standing
committee." The standing committee (consisting of
sixty persons) met, and appointed the committee to
meet the commissioners of the United States and'
those of Pennsylvania, as provided by the final reso-
lution. This committee of conference was comp
as follows:
For Fayette County : Albert Gallatin, Edward Cook,-
and James Lang.
For Westmoreland County: John Kirkiiatrick,'
George Smith, and John Powers.
For Allegheny County: Hugh H. Brackeuridg
Thomas :\Ioreton, and jJhn B. C. Lucas.
For Washingt.m County: David Bradford, James.
^Fir.hal, and .lames Edgar.
Fiu- Bedford County: Herman Husbands.
For Ohio County, Va., William Sutherland.
The Committee of Sixty, after having appointed
and instructed the committee of conference, adj'iurned
to meet at Redstone Old Fort (Brownsville) on the;
Tlie commissioners for the State arrived at Pitts-
burgh on the 17tli of August, and those appointed by
the I're-ideiit came immediately afterwards. On the
iMth the two bodies met the committee of conference
whirh was appointed at Parkinson's Ferry. At this
meeting preliminary proceedings were taken, wdiich
resulted in pr.)positious by both bodies of commis-
>ion;'rs, who declared explicitly that the exercise 01
the iiowers vested in them to suspend prosecutions.
and to promise a general amnesty and pardon for past
o:leii-es, ■■must he preceded by full and satislactotji
;k--.suranees of a sincere determination in the peopU
to obey the laws of the United States." The memben
of the committee \vho took the most prominent pan
in the proceedings were Gallatin and Cook, of Fay-
o-!, ; r.radlord and Marshal, of Washington; and
nraekeiiridge, of Allegheny County. All these, witl
the excei)tion of Bradford, were in favor of accedit
to the propositions of the commissioners, and tliil
was found to be the sense of the committee ; but thej
had no [lower to act, further than to report the resul"
of theeonlerence to the standing Committee ofSixtyi
That committee had adjourned to meet at Redstone 0I«™
Fort on the 2d of September, as before mentioned, bu'
upon the conclusion of the conference with thecommfe
sioners at Pittsburgh the time of their meeting '
changed and made five days earl ier,''' though this char
THE WHISKEY LNSURRECTION.
leo
of time gave great offense to Bradford and other ex-
tremists. The change of time was made in deference
to one of the conditions imposed by the commissioners,
viz. : " It is expected and required by the said com-
missioners that the citizens compo.sing the said stand-
ing committee do, on or be/ore (he first daij of September
next, explicitly declare their determination to submit
to the laws of the United States, and that they will
not, directly or indirectly, oppose the execution of the
acts for raising a revenue on distilled spirits and
stills."
Accordingly, on the 2Sth of August, the standing
committee (the committee of sixty) met at Browns-
ville, to receive and act upon tiie report of the com-
littee of conference. Of the sixty members of the
committee, fifty-seven were in attendance, of whom
twenty-three were from \Va.shington County. Judge
Alexander Addison said' "that the minds of all men
appeared to be strongly impressed with a sense of the
critical situation of the country, and the minds of al-
most all with a fear of opposing the current of the
popular opinion," and that "these impressions were
greatly increased by the appearance of a body of
armed men a.'^sembled there Irom Muddy Creek, in
C.MSlitlltiol
ill power of til
11 MSUIU.
es-ithcui. In-
inl.iiuce. .
. Wehav.-.n
.Nipjwc.re.
to give .V..., n
!l,.. people oil the gn^.l
i;ike tlli^^ rep Jit to tho coinniitteo to whom wo are to report,
lo them the reasons of our opinion, th.it so fur as they linve
'■y uny he regurdeil by them. It will lie out- endeavor to con-
[ (.lily them, hut the public niiuil in general to our views on
t. AVe hope to bo assisted by you in giving all that e.\tent
Washington County, to punish Samuel Jackson- as an
enemy to what they called their cause."
The business of the meeting was opened by the
submission of the conference committee's report and
a speech upon it by Mr. Gallatin, who urged the
adoption of a resolution in -acceptance of the terms
offered by the commissioners, and set forth the dan-
ger of using force in resistance to the law, the im-
possibility of these western counties contending suc-
cessfully against the force of the United States, and
the evident necessity of submission. "Mr. Gallatin,
although a foreigner who could with difliculty make
himself understood in English, yet presented with
great force the folly of past resistance, and the ruin-
ous consequences to the country of the continuance
of the insurrection. He urged that the government
was bound to vindicate the laws, and that it would
surely send an overwhelming force against them. He
placed the subject in a new light, and .showed the
insurrection to be a much more serious affair than it
had before appeared."^ Mr. Brackenridge followed
Gallatin in an argument to the same end, though
urged in a different manner. Then Col. Bradford
delivered a speech in opposition to the various argu-
ments of Gallatin and Brackenridge, alluding to the
revolutions in America and in France as models for
imitation, and as inducements to hope for the success
of these counties against the government, which he
said was rendered reasonably certain on account of
their peculiar situation, as separated from the eastern
country by almost insurmountable natural barriers.
His whole speech was manifestly intended to keep up
the opposition to goveninicnt, and to prevent the
adoption of the re-^dlatinn^ propdsed by Mr. Gallatin.
The leaders, with the excenlion of 'liiM.irnrd and a
jion, and were :
■e, luul liilly UKKleup tlieir
k <.f the ill>urirrti(,n, but
•at that time little thought
riolent and determined an
! reply of the Ohio County
n.lge, a
iielidof
■ nritter
170
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
opposition as ever, and so strong an influence did this
exert, even on the leaders who knew that the cause
was hopeless, that they dared not openly and fully
avow their sentiments and place themselves on record.
"Such was tlie fear of the popular frenzy that it was
with difficulty that a vote could be had at this meet-
ing. No one would vote by standing up. None *
would write a yea or nay, lest his handwriting should
be recogni/.ud. At last it was determined that ijca
and lunj should be written by the secretary on the I
same pieces of paper, and be distributed, leaving each
member to clieu- u|> or destroy one of the words while j
he put the ..tlirr ill the liox," thus giving each mem- [
ber an opportunity cf conrraliug liis opinion, and of
sheltering liini^elf from tlie re-entnii'nt (jf those from \
ipprehended, or whom he
In this way a balloting
in of the resolutions by a
itv-five. Wlirn tlii-< vote
whom violence was i
wished to avoid otl'e
was had, and in the ;
vote of tliirty-four t
wasdeel;ir,.,l\o stn.n-lv in op|,o.ition to 1,1- vi^^ws,
Col. Bra.ltor.l uithdrew IVoni the merting in angir
and disgust.
It was by the meeting " Resolved, That in the
opinion of this Committee it is the interest of the
people of this Country to a.re.le to tlie proposals
made by the Coniiiii,>ion, i- on the part ot (l,e United
States. Resolved, that a Copy uf tlu
lutiou be transmitted to the said Com
But instead of giving the assuran
the commissiiuiers, the Committee of
disposition to temporize, and in tl,..' li
better terms they further " Re-olvri
mittee be aiiiiointed' to loni
egjnng reso-
sioners."
required by
ty showed a
the (■
ers
in th.
of Pennsylvania, with i
mittee to try to obtain
such further modifleati^
think will render them more agr^raM
at large, and also to rejiriseiit the nii;i
ing further time to tlio people belore tli
mination is rec|uireil . . . That the >:
shall publish and cominuniiate tliroii
eral counties the day at wliicli tiio son-i
is expected to be taken. That on the
lished the following question be submit
zens duly qualified to vote, according to the election
law of the State, of the Counties of Westmorelaml,
Washington, Fayette,. .\11. L'h, nv, and that j.arl of
Bedford which lies wot ol tl.,. All, -limy mountains,
in Pennsylvania, and of Ohio County, Virginia,—
Will the people submit to the laws of the United States
■ 1 gr
the jjcople
thus pub-
'Tim following letter from tli
ch.i
.■man of tlie meeting was addressed
to the Un
ited States committee:
"
Brownsvit,
LE, 29lli .A.i.gust, 1704.
" Gest
EMEX,— Difflculties l.a
ving
arisen will
us, we have thought it
necessarj
to appoint .a committee
to c
onferwitli
•oil in Older to procure.
if possibl
0.(1
r that tlio
loople may liave leisure
to reflect
upon tlieir tine siun.li
"I.™, Gcnil
men
,.vour mo=
ob'. Ilnmtile SerV,
" Edwaed Cook."
vpon the terms proposed by the Commissioners of the
United States f
The persons appointed to form the committee under
these resolutions were John Probst, Robert Dickey,
John Nesbitt, Herman Husband, John Corbly, John
Marshal, David Phillips, John Hoaton, John McClel-
land, William Ewing, George Wallace, Samuel Wil-
son, and Richard Brown.
The meeting continued in session at Brownsville
for two days, and adjourned on the 29th of August.
It was the last meeting of the kind held during the
insurrection, and virtually marked its clo.se, as the
meeting held at the same place three years before
(July 27, 1791) had marked its opening, that being
j the first public meeting held in opposition to the ex-
j cise law. Thus it may be said that the famous insur-
rection was born and died at Redstone Old Fort, in
Fayette County.
The committee appointed at the Brownsville meet-
ing met the commissioners of the United States and
those of Pennsylvania in conference at Pittsburgh
on the 1st of September, at which meeting "it was
agreed that the assurances required from the citizens
of the Fourth Survey of Pennsylvania [the four west-
ern counties] .should be given in writing, and their
sense ascertained in the following manner:
"That the citizens of the said survey (Allegheny
County excepted-) of the age of eighteen years and
upwards, be required to assemble on Thursday, the
11th in-tant, in tlieir respective townships, at the
usual place for holding township meetings, and that
between the hours of twelve and seven, in the after-
noon of the same -day, any two or more of the mem-
bers of the meeting who assembled at Parkinson's
Ferry on the 14th ultimo, resident in the township,
or a justice of the peace of said township, do openly
jiropose to the people assembled the following ques-
tions: Do you now engage to submit to the laws of
the United States, and that you will not hereafter,
directly or indirectly, oppose the execution of the
acts for raising the revenue upon distilled spirits and
stills? And do you also tindertake to support, as far
as the laws require, the civil authority in affording
the protection due to all officers and other citizens?
Yea or nay? .' . . That a minute of the number of
ye.as and nays be made immediately after ascertaining
the same. That a written or printed declaration of
such eugagement be signed by all those who vote iu
the affirmative, of the following tenor, to wit: 'I do
solemnly promise henceforth to submit to the laws of
the United States; that I will not, directly or indi-
rectly, oppose the execution of the acts for raising a
revenue on distilled spirits and stills; and that I will
support, so far as the law requires, the civil authority
in affi)rding the protection due to all officers and other
~ Tlie citizens of Allegheny County were required to " mei t in their
respective elccli .n districts on tlie said dav, in the same manner as if
THE WHISKEY INSURRECTION.
171
citizens.' This shall be signed in the presence of the
said members or justices of the peace, attested by him
or them, and lodged in his or their hands.
"That the said persons so proposing the questions
stated as aforesaid do assemble at the respective
county court-houses on the 13th inst., and do ascer-
tain and make report of the numbers of those who
voted in the affirmative in the respective townships
or districts, and of the number of those who voted in
the negative, together with their opinion whether
there be such a general submission of the people in
their respective counties that an office of inspection
may be immediately and safely established therein ;
that the said report, opinion, and written or printed
declarations be transmitted to the commissioners or
any one of them at Uniontown on or before the 16th
instant."
On the part of the United States, the commissioners
agreed that if the assurances should be given in good
faith, as prescribed, no prosecution (or treason or any
other indictable offense against the United States com-
mitted in this survey before the 22d of August, 1794,
should be commenced before the 10th of July, 1795,
against any person who should, within the time lim-
ited, subscribe such assurance and engagement, and
perform the same, and that on the 10th of July, 1795,
there should be granted "a general pardon and ob-
livion of all the said offenses;" but excluding there-
from every person refusing or neglecting to subscribe
the assurances and engagement, or who having so sub-
scribed, should violate the same, or wilfully obstruct
the execution of the excise laws. On behalf of the
State of Pennsylvania, the commissioners, McKean
and Irvine, promised that if the proposed assurances
should be given and performed until July 10, 1795,
there should then be granted (so far as the State was
concerned) "an act of free and general pardon and
oblivion of all treasons, insurrections, areons, riots, and
other offenses inferior to riots committed, counseled,
or suffered by any person or pei-sons within the four
•western counties of Pennsylvania" subsequent to the
14th of July, 1794, but excluding from its operation
every person refusing or neglecting to subscribe to
such agreement, or violating it after subscribing.
The Pennsylvania commissioners left Pittsburgh on
the 3d of September, and Messrs. Yeates and Brad-
ford, United States commissioners, proceeded east
soon afterwards. Both bodies were requested by the
Governor and the President respectively to remain
until after the announcement of the result of the
popular vote;' but for some reason they did not
comply, and only James Ross remained to carry the
signatures to Philadelphia.
On the day appointed, September 11th, elections
■were held in (nearly) alt the townships or election
districts of the four counties. The result in Fayette
was announced as follows :
1 See Pa. Archives, 2il Soiies, vul. iv. rp 200, 201.
" L'xii)\T0wx, Sopti-nilicr IG, i;',l4.
"We, the subscribers, having, according to resolu-
tions of the committee of townships for the county of
Fayette, acted as .judges on the llth'instant at the
meetings of the people of said county, respectively
convened at the places in the first, second, and third
election districts where the general elections are
usually held (no judge or member of the committee
attending from the fourth and last district, which
consists of the townships of Tyrone and BuUskin),
do hereby certify that five hundred and sixty of the
people thus convened on the day aforesaid did then
and there declare their determination to submit to the
laws of the United States in the manner expressed by
the commissioners on the part of the Union in their
letter dated the 22d day of August last ; the total
number of those who attended on that occasion being
only seven hundred and twenty-one, — that is to say,
something less than one-third of the number of citi-
zens of the said three districts. And we do further
certify that from our previous knowledge of the
disposition of the general body "of the people, and
from the anxiety since discovered by many (who
either from not having had notice, or from not hiv-
ing understood the importance of the question, did
not attend) to give similar assurances of submis-
sion, we are of opinion that the great majority of
ttend
those citizens who did not
have peaceably and with >
"Albert G.vllatin
" William Robeiits
"James White.
"George Dieuth [Dearth?]."
But notwithstanding the ftivorable report of the
judges of election, it appears that the United States
comniissiimrrs !CL';ir(UMl the lirucccdings in Favette
^posed to be-
r >ubiiii>sion to the laws.
John Jacicjox.
Andrew Rabb.
Thomas Pattersox.
lu'i
iliarlv u!i<;iti-liictory. In their
report t<. tlir I'n-idmt- thc.v said, "The county of
Fayi-tir njcted tin- mode of ascertaining the sense
"f Uiv ]H'..|.lr wliirh had been settled between the
undrr>i_nni-(l niid llir hi-t committee of conference at
Pittsburgh (Seiilciul.cr l>ti. 'I'hr ^ianding committee
of that county dinctid th..-. y// ,/,,/,,/ /,,/ f/ie laics of
thr Stnte\foi- voting „i vl.rf,,,,,. to assemble in their
election districts* and vote by ballot whether they
would accede to the proposals made by the commis-
sioners of the United States on the 22d of August
or not. The superintendents of these election districts
report that five hundred and sixty of the people thus
convened had voted for submission, and that one hun-
dred and sixty-one had voted against it ; that no judge
= Tiipers Reciting to tlie Wliiskey Insurrection ; Pa. Archives, Scrit
2, vol. iv. rp. 237, 25S.
3 Tlie agrftnicnt i.f tlio committee with the commissioners was, nc
tliat qmihjifl mfn-s hij tU' hnr (.f P>?}iiis!ilcfinia alone should vote on th
proposili.m. In' tl, .t ll,. p;. -i..^. _-l M l,e snUmitted to " (lie ciCaem o
t.'ie ndut "III ' ■ I ''■'■', I ^ 'ittil ttpicards"
< It w:\- ill ', I. jh. MX I . 1^ 1 ,1 iM (liiit llio agreement with the com
172
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
or member of their committee liad attended from the
Fourth District of the couuty to report the state of the
votes there, and that they are of opinion that a great
majority of the citizens who did not attend are dis-
posed to live peac(iably and witli due submission to
the laws. But it is proper to mention that credible
and certain information has been received that in the
Fourth District of that county (composed of the town-
ships of Tyrone and BuUskin), of which the standing
commitlrc have i;iven no account, si.x-sevenths of
those whn vntiMJ ucie for re.-^istancc. . . . The written
assnraner- nC >uliiiii<siua Avliich have been received
by the cnniiiiis^ininis urc not liiinicious, nor were they
given liyull thn-cwli.. rx|in-^-.(l a willingness to obey
the laws. In Favittc (.'uuiity, a ilitfereut plan being
pursued, no wrilfcn ansuntnce-i were ijiccn in the manner
rcipiired."
In regard to the non-compliance with the methods
prescrilicd by tlic ci.niiiiissioner*, the failure in Fay-
ette County t(i -igiiiiy the suliniis<ii)n of the people
by individual sub<ci-ipti..n to the terms, and the very
light vote cast here,' Mr. Oallutiii. in a letter t.. (;..v-
ernor Mifflin,' dated Uni..iitowii,Se;ileiiil.eil 7th, >ai>l,
"It was an cftWrt tno -reat, [.erliap-. t.i he ixpe'ted
a test ot al)soUite Mil. 111!
giving active support I., t
be operatetl only by ileg'
vineed the unilei-tamlini;^
was not so easy a ta-k to
dices were more ilieply lo.. e'l and n
tion less extensive. The great Ihh
which consists of moderate men, we
from a want of knowledge of their ow
to discover tlieir sentiments, and wi:
awe by a tew violent men. Tiiis wa
cipal reasons which prevented sii ii
ing the general meeting on the day ■
of the jjeople was taken, to whieh
crate nieii", who. havin- r,,llow,.l ,„.
sulli^
i, Tlie change would
nd alter having con-
nioi-e enlightened, it
le tln.^e whose pivju-
|S ,,l
1 1
t kept in
the prin-
n attend-
igh
all the wannest per-nns attended, we had a very
large and decided majority anioiig-t tlie voter>, and a
great many of those w ho had eonje with an intention
of testilVing their intention to resist, were convinced
by the aigunients niaile use of, though their pride
W(juhl not suller them to make a public retraction on
tlie moment, and they went off without giving any
vote.
•' A very favorable and decisive change h.as taken
place since, and has indeed been the re.sult of the
event of that day. The general disposition now seems
to be to submit, and a great many are now signing the
proposals of the commissioners, not only in the
neighboring counties, but even in this, where we had
not thought it necessary. We have therefore thought
the moment was come for the people to act with more
vigor, and to show something more than mere passive
obedience to the laws, and we have in consequence
(by the resolutions of this day herein inclosed, and
which, we hope, will be attended with salutary eft'ects)
recommended associations for the purpose of preserv-
ing order, and of supporting the civil authority, as
whatever heat existed in this county was chiefly
owing to what had passed in the neighboring coun-
ties."
•The resolutions referred to in the letter were those
passed at a meeting of the township committees of
Fayette County, held on the 17th of Septendier, at
Uniontown, and of which Edward Cook was cliair-
man. As stated by Mr. Gallatin, they recommended
township associations in this and adjoining counties
to promote submission to the law, and in their pre-
anihle recited that "It is necessary to shew our fel-
low-eitizens throughout the United States that the
eliaraeter of the inhabitants of the western country
is not sueh as may have been represented to them,
hut that on the contrary they are disposed to live in
a peaceable manner, and can preserve good order
among themselves without the a.ssistance of a military
force." Evidently the opponents of the law had at
last begun to realize that successful resistance to the
government was hopeless, and that voluntary submis-
sion was better than that enforced by infantry, cav-
alry, and artillery. But the knowledge came too late
to prevent the exercise, or at least the menace, of the
military power. Upon a full knowledge of the result
of the meetings held on the 11th of September in the
townships and election districts of the disaffected
counties, the United States commissioners reported to
the President, narrating the events connected with
their mission, and concluded by saying that although
they firmly believed that a considerable majority of
the inhabitants of the four counties were disposed to
-uhiuittothc execution of the laws, "at the same time
they [the commissioners] conceive it their duty ex-
plicitly to declare their opinion that such is the state
ol' things in that survey that there is no probability'
that the act for raising a revenue on distilled spirits
and >;ills eau at present be enforced by the usual
eour-e ot eivil authority, and that some more compe-
tent tbrce is necessary to cause the laws to be duly
executed, and to insure to the officers and well-dis-
posed citizens that protection which it is the duty of
government to afford. This opinion is founded on the
tiicts already stated [the accounts of the unsatisfactory
result of the township and district nieetingsj, and it
is confirmed by that which is entertained by many
intelligent and influential persons, officers of justice
and others, resident in the western counties, who have
latclv informed one of the commissioners that what-
THE WHISKEY INSURRECTION.
173
ever assurances might be given, it was in tlieir judg-
ment absolutely necessary that the civil authority i
should be aided by a military force in order to secure ;
a duo execution of the laws." I
The commissioners' report caused the President }
to decide, unhesitatingly, to use the military power^ ]
and to extinguish the last vestige of insurrection at
whatever cost. In taking this course he had (as he
afterwards said to a committee from these counties)
two great objects in view : first, to show, not only to the
inhabitants of the western country, but to the entire
Union and to foreign nations, that. a republican gov-
ernment could and would exert its physical power to
enforce the execution of the laws where opposed, and
also that American citizens were ready to make every
sacrifice and encounter every difficulty and danger for
the sake of supporting that fundamental principle of
government; and, second, to effect a full and com-
plete restoration of order and submission to the laws
in the insurrectionary district. In pursuance of this
determination the forces were promptly put in motion,
and on the 25th of September the President issued a
proclamation, which, after a preamble, setting forth
that the measures taken by government to suppress
the lawless combinations in the western counties had
foiled to have full effect; that "the moment is now
come where the overtures of forgiveness, with no
other condition than a submission to law, have been
only partially accepted ; when every form of concilia-
tion not inconsistent with the well-being of govern-
ment has been adopted without effect," proceeds, —
" Now, therefore, I, George Washington, President
of the United States, in obedience to that high and
irresistible duty consigned to me by the Constitution,
' to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,' de-
ploring that the American name should be sullied by
the outrages of citizens on their own government,
commiserating such as remain obstinate from delu-
sion, but resolved, in perfect reliance on that gracious
Providence which so signally displays its goodness
towards this country, to reduce the refractory to a
due subordination to the law : Do hereby declare and
make known that, with a satisfaction which can be
equaled only by the merits of the militia summoned
into service from the States of New Jersey, Pennsyl-
vania, Maryland, and Virginia, I have received in-
telligence of their patriotic alacrity in obeying the
call of the present though painful yet commanding
necessity; that a force which, according to every rea-
sonable expectation, is adequate to the exigency is
already in motion to the scene of disaffection ; that
those who have confided or shall confide in the pro-
tection of government shall meet full succor under
the standard and from the arms of the United States;
that those who, having oft'ended against the laws,
have since entitled themselves to indemnity, will be
treated with the most liberal good fiiith, if they shall
not have forfeited their claim by any subsequent con-
duct, and that instructions are given accordingly. . . ."
The forces called out for the exigency amounted to
about fifteen thousand men, in four divisions, one
division from each of the States of Virginia, Maryland,
Penu.sylvania, and New Jersey, as before mentioned.
The .Virginia and Maryland troops (commanded
respectively by Gen. Daniel Morgan, of the former
State, and Brig.-Gen. Samuel Smith, of Baltimore)
formed the left wing, which rendezvoused at Cumber-
land, Md. The right wing (which was rendezvoused
at Carlisle, Pa.) was composed of the Pennsylvania
troops, commanded by Governor Mifflin, and those of
New Jersey, under Governor Richard Howell, of that
State. The commander-in-chief of the whole army
was Gen. Henry Lee, Governor of Virginia, the
" Light-Horse Harry" of Revolutionary fame, and
father of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the Confederate com-
mander in the war of 1861-65.
In his instructions from the President, the com-
mander-in-chief was directed to " proceed as speedily
as may be with the army under your command into
the insurgent counties, to attack and as -far as shall be
in your power to subdue all persons whom you may
find in arms in opposition to the laws. You will
march your army in two columns from the places
where they are now assembled, by the most convenient
routes, having regard to the nature of the roads, the
convenience of supply, and the facility of co-opera-
tion and union, and bearing in mind that you ought
to act, until the contrary shall be fully developed, on
the general principle of having to contend with the
whole forceof the countius (if Fayt'ttu, Westmoreland,
Washington, and All.-hrny, :ni<l , if that part of Bed-
ford which lies westward of tlie town of Bedford, and
that you are to put as little as possible to hazard.
j The approximation, therefore, of your columns is to
j be sought, and the subdivisiim of them <o as to place
the parts out of mutual siippurtin^' distance to be
avoided as far as local circumstaiucs will permit.
Parkinson's Ferry appears to be a proper point
towards which to direct the march of the columns for
the purpose of ulterior measures.
" When arrived within the insurgent country, if an
armed oppdsitinn a|)pear, it may be proper to publish
a prochunatiiin inviting all good citizens, friends to
the constitution and laws, to join the standard of the
United States. If no armed opposition exist it may
still be proper to publish a proclamation exhorting to
a peaceful and dutiful demeanor, and giving assu-
rances of performing with good faith and liberality
whatsoever may have been promised by the commis-
sioners to those who have complied with the condi-
tions prescribed by them, and who have not forfeited
their title by subsequent misdemeanor. Of those
persons in arms, if any, whom you may make prisoners,
leaders, including all persons in command, are to be
delivered to the civil magistrates, the rest to be dis-
armed, admonished, and sent home (except such as
may have been particularly violent and also influen-
tial), causing their own recognizances for their good
174
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
behaviour to be taken in the cases which it may be
deemed expedient. . . . When the insurrection is
subdued, and the requisite means have been put in
execution to secure obedience to the laws, so as to
render it proper for the army to retire (an event which
you will accelerate as much as shall be consistent with
the object), you will endeavor to make an arrangement
for attaching such a force as you may deem adequate,
to be stationed within the disafl'ected counties in such
a manner as best to afford protection to well-disposed
riii/cns and tlie officers of the revenue, and to sup-
press, by their presence, the spirit of riot and opposi-
tion to the laws. But before you withdraw the army
you shall promise, on behalf of the President, a gen-
eral pardon to all such as shall not have been arrested,
with such exceptions as you shall deem proper. . . .
You are to exert yourself by all possible means to
preserve discipline among the troops, particularly a
scrupulous regard to the riglits of persons and prop-
erty, and a respect for the authority of the civil mag-
istrates, taking especial care to inculcate and cause
to be observed this principle,— that the duties of the
armyare confined to attacl;in,u and suliduing of armed
opponents of the laws, and to the supporting and aid-
ing of the civil officers in tlie execution of their func-
tions.
" It has been settled that the Governor of Pennsyl-
vania will be second, and the Governor of New Jersey
third in command, and that the troops of the several
States in line on the man-h and upon ilctachmeut are
to be posted according tn the rule whieh inevailed in
the army during the late war. namely, in moving
towards the seaboard the nujst southern troops will
take the right, in moving towards the north the most
northern troojis will take the right. . . ."
In addition to his military duties as commanding
officer of the expeditionary forces, Gen. Lee was also
charged to give countenance and support to the civil
officers in the execution of the law, in bringing
offenders to justice, and enforcing penalties on de-
linquent distillers, and "the better to effect these
purposes" the judge of the United States District
Court, Kichard Peters, Ks(i., and the attorney of the
district, William Eawle, Kscj., accompanying the
army.
President Washington, with Gen. .Henry Knox, Sec-
retary of War, and Gen. Alexander Hamilton, Secre-
tary of the Treasury, left Pliiladelpliia on the 1st of
October, and proceeded l.y way of Harrishurg to the
headquarters of the right wing of the army at Car-
lisle. From that ].laee, on the lltli he went to Cham-
bersburg, and thenee by way of Williamsport to Fort
Cumberland, where hearrive.l on the Utli, and where
he reviewed the Maryland and Virginia troops, com-
posing the lelt wing; alter whieh he jiroeeeded to
Bedford, Pa. (which was then Gen. Lee's headquar-
ters), reaching it on the 10th, and remaining there
two or three days, then returning east, and arriving
at Philadelphia on the 28th.
In the mean time, after the departure of the Hon.
James Ross, United States commissioner, from Pitts-
burgh and Uniontown, carrying with him to Phila-
delphia the reports of the elections of the 11th of
September, the people of the four counties began to
realize that the results of those elections might very
probably be regarded as unsatisfactory by the govern-
ment, and that very unpleasant consequences might
ensue by the ordering of the military forces into this
region. Upon this a general feeling of alarm became
apparent, and spread rapidly. A meeting of the Com-
mittee of Sixty (otherwise termed the Committee of
Safety) was called and held at Parkinson's Ferry on the
2d of October, Judge Alexander Addison being their
secretary. At this meeting William Findley, of West-
moreland, and David Redick, of Washington County,
were appointed a committee to wait on the President of
the United States and to assure him that submission
and order could be restored wdthout the aid of military
force. They found the President on the 10th of Oc-
tober at Carlisle, where he had come to review the
troops of the right wing of the army, as before men-
tioned. Tliey there had several interviews with him,
in which they informed him of the great change that
had taken place; " that the great body of the people
who had no concern in the di-sorders but remained
quietly at home and attended to their business had
become convinced that the violence used would ruin
the country ; that they had formed themselves into
associations to suppress disorder, and to promote sub-
mission to the laws." In reply to this, the President
said that as the army was already on its way to the
western counties, the orders could not be counter-
manded, yet: he assured the delegates that no vio-
lence would be used, and that all that was desired
was to have the inhabitants of the disaffected region
come back to their allegiance.
This reply was final and ended the mission of the
committee. They returned and made their report at
another meeting of the Committee of Safety, which
was held at Parkinson's on the 24th of October, and
of which Judge James Edgar was chairman. At this
" meeting of the committees of townships of the four
western counties of Pennsylvania and of sundry other
citizens" it was resolved, " First, — Tliat in our opinion
the civil authority is now fully competent to enforce
the laws and punish both past and future offenses, in-
asmuch as the people at large are determined to sup-
port every description of civil officers in the legal dis-
charge of their duty.
"Second, — That in our opinion all persons who
may be charged or suspected of having committed any
offense against the United States or the State during
the late disturbances, and who have not entitled
themselves to the benefits of the act of oblivion, ought
immediately to surrender themselves to the civil au-
thority, in order to stand their trial ; that if there
be any such persons among us they are ready to
surrender themselves to the civil authoritv accord-
THE WHISKEY INSURRECTION.
175
ingly, and that we will unite in giving our assistance i
to bring to justice such offenders as shall not sur-
render.
"Third, — That in our opinion offices of inspection
may he immediately opened in the respective coun- i
ties of this survey, without any danger of violence |
being offered to any of the officers, and that the dis- j
tillers are willing and ready to enter their stills.
" Fourth,— That William Findley, David Rediclc,
Ephraim Douglass, and Thomas Morton do wait on i
the President with the foregoing resolutions."
The four committee-men appointed by the meeting |
to carry the renewed assurances to the President met
at Greensburg pieparatory to setting out on tlieir
mission, but at that place they received intelligence
that the President had already left Bedford for Phila-
delphia, and that the army was moving towards the
Monongahela, and thereupon they decided to await
the arrival of the forces, and to report the action of
the meeting to the commander-in chief, as the Presi-
dent's representative.
There was no delay in the movement of the army.
The New Jersey and Pennsylvania troops, composing
the right wing, marched from Carlisle on the 22d of
October, and proceeded by way of Bedford, across that
county and Somerset, and along the road skirting the
northeastern part of Fayette, to what is now Mount
Pleasant, in Westmoreland, at which place the ad-
vance brigade arrived and encamped on the 29th. The
centre corps (of this wing) encamped on the farm of
Col. Bonnett, in Westmoreland, near the line of
Fayette County, and the rear went into camp at Lo-
bengier's Mills on the 30th. At these places they re-
ined encamped about one week. Following is an
extract from a letter' written from the rear brigade,
dated Jones' Mill (in Westmoreland, near the north-
east line of Fayette County), Oct. 29, 1784: " I am
distressed at the ridiculous accounts sometimes pub-
lished in our papers. I assure you that there has not
been a single shot fired at our troops to my knowl-
edge. The whole country trembles. The most tur-
bulent characters, as we advance, turn out to assist us,
supply forage, cattle, etc. From Washington we hear
of little but fear and flight; a contrary account as to
one neighborhood (Pidgeon Creek) has been sent
down, but no appearance of an armed opposition, and
this the only part of the country where the friends of
government are not triumphant. Our army is healthy
and happy ; the men exhibit unexpected fortitude in
supporting the continued fatigues of bad roads and
bad weather."
The left wing of the army moved from Fort Cum-
berland on the 22d of October, and took the route
marched over by Gen. Braddock thirty-nine years be-
fore, to the Great Meadows, and from there to Union-
iPapcrsEel;ilingtotIieWbi3lii?ylDsmTectioniPciin9jiVi\DiaArcbi\
2d Series, vol. iv. p. 433.
town, at which place Gen. Lee arrived on the last
day of October, and the main body of the left wing
came up and encamped there the same evening.
The committee-men, Findley, Rcdick, Douglass,
and Morton, who, as before mentioned, had been met
at Greensburg with the intelligence of the departure
of the President from Bedford, which decided them
to wait the arrival of the army, went to the head-
quarters of the right wing at Bonnett's farm on the
30th of October, and presented the resolutions of as-
surance to Secretary Hamilton, who accompanied the
division of Governor Miffiin. The secretary examined
them and returned them to the committee, with the re-
mark that, " for the sake of decorum, it would be best to
present them to the commander-in-chief." This was
what the committee had intended to do, and learning
that Gen. Lee was then at or near Uniontown they
immediately left for that place, and arriving there on
the 31st of October, laid the business of their mission
before him, he having full power to act in the name
of the President. Secretary Hamilton also came over
from the right wing, and arrived at Uniontown on
the same evening.
Gen. Lee received the committee with great polite-
ness,^ and requested them to call on him on the follow-
ing morning. At the appointed time he gave them
his reply, which they embodied in their report, dated
Uniontown, Nov. 1, 1794.^ It was as follows :
" Gentlemen,— The resolutions entered into at
the late meeting of the people at Parkinson's Ferry,
with the various papers declaratory of the determina-
tion of the numerous subscribers to maintain the
civil authority, manifest strongly a change of senti-
ment in the inhabitants of this district. To what
cause may truly be ascribed this favorable turn in
the public mind it is of my province to determine.
Yourselves, in the conversation last evening, imputed
it to the universal panic which the approach of the
army of the United States had excited in the lower
orders of the people. If this be the ground of the
late change, — and my respect for your opinions will
not permit me to doubt it, — the moment the cause is
removed the reign of violence and anarchy will return.
" Whatever, therefore, may be the sentiments of
the people respecting the present competency of the
civil authority to enforce the laws, I feel myself ob-
ligated by the trust reposed in me by the President
of the United States to hold the army in this country
until daily practice shall convince all that the sover-
eignty of the Constitution and laws is unalterably es-
tablished. In executing this resolution I do not only
2 Tlic committee, however, were not very well plr.,,- >l iviil, \t.. .i ,-•■-
"History of the lusurreclioii," p. I'.IO), "IiiJepil.th. ^' 1
liolitcly in other respects and employed to assist in iIm li\ii..; ■ l n . cs-
saries for the army, and consulted about the ground on wliicl] it should
w ith tliat candour and frankness witli wliicli we had been treated by the
President at Carlisle."
■1 Pa. Arcliivcs, 2d Series, vol. iv.p. 437.
17G
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
consult the dignity and interest of the United States,
which will always command my decided respect and
preferential attention, but I also promote the good
of this particular district.
" I shall, therefore, as soon as the troops are re-
freshed, proceed to some central and convenient
station, where I shall patiently wait until the com-
petency of the civil authority is experimentally and
unequivocally proved. No individual can be more
solicitous than I am for this happy event, and you
may assure the good people whom you represent that
every aid 'will be cheerfully contributed by me to
hasten the delightful epoch.
"On the part of all good citizens I confidently
expect the most active and faithful co-operation,
which in my judgment cannot be more effectually
given than by circulating in the most public manner
the truth among the people, and by inducing the
various clubs which have so successfully poisoned the
minds of the inhabitants to continue their usual meet-
ings for the pious purpose of contradicting, with their
customary formalities, their past pernicious doctrines.
A conduct so candid should partially atone for the
injuries which in a geat degree may be attributed to
their instrumentality, and must have a propitious
influence in administering a radical cure to the exist-
ing disorders.
'■ On my part, and on the part of the patriotic army
I have the honor to command, assure your fellow-cit-
izens that we come to protect and not to destroy, and
that our respect for our common government, and
respect to our own honor, are ample pledges for the pro-
priety of our demeanor. Quiet, therefore, the appre-
hensions of all on this score, and recommend univer-
sally to the people to prepare for the use of the array
whatever they can spare from their fiirnis necessary
to its subsistence, for which they shall be paid in cash
at the present market price; discourage exaction of
every sort, not only because it would testify a dispo-
sition very unfriendly, but because it would probably
produce very disagreeable scenes. It is my duty to
take care that the troops are comfortably subsisted,
and I cannot but obey it with the highest pleasure,
because I intimately know their worth and excellence.
" I have the honor to be, gentlemen,
" Your most obedient servant,
" With due consideration,
"Henry Lee."
This reply, or address to the people, was printed
and circulated extensively in every part of the four
counties.
After a stay of a few days at Uniontown and Mount
Pleasant respectively, the two columns of the army
moved on in obedience to the general orders of the
commander-in-chief, as follows :
" Heahquarters,
"UxiON (Beesox's) Towx, Nov. 2, 1704.
" The nrmy will resume its march on the morning of the 4th,
;,t the hour of eight, when a signal-gun will be Ored. They
will advance in two columns, composed of the respective wings.
The right column will take the route by Lodge's to Budd's
Ferry, under the command of his E.xcellency Governor Jlifflin,
who will please to take the most convenient situation in the
vicinity of that place for the accommodation of the troops and
wait further orders. The left co:umn will proceed on the route
to Peterson's, on the east side of Parkinson's Ferry, under the
orders of Major-General Morgan ; they will marcli by the left
in the following manner: Light corps, cavalry, artillery, Vir-
ginia brigade, Maryland brigade, the baggage to follow each
corps, and the public stores of every kind in the rear of the
Virginia brigade. On the first day the light corps and artillery
will march to Washington Bottom, fourteen miles ; the Vir-
ginia brigade to Peterson's farm, twelve miles; the cavalry
under Major Lewis will move with the comm!inder-in-chief ;
the bullocks to precede the army at daylight. On the second
day the column will proceed to the camp directed to be marked
out between Parkinson's .and Budd's Ferries.
"Should Brigadier-General Smith find the second day's
march rather too much, he will be pleased to divide the same
into two days. The quartermaster-general will immediately
take measures for the full supply of forage and straw at the
different stages. The commissary will pKace the necessary
supply of provisions at particular intermediate stages where
issues will be necessary j guards over the straw as soon as the
van reaches the ground, and to sec the same fairly divided
amongst the troops. [Here follows the assignment of straw to
each brigade, to the cavalry and artillery, and directions for
making out the pay-rolls for one month's pay from the com-
mencement of service.] The inspector and muster-master-gen-
ei'als of the respective line will also make pay-rolls for the
general staff, to be countersigned by the commander-in-chief
previous to payment. Henuv Lee."
" By the Commander-in-Chief.
-G. H. TAVLon, Aidc-iU-Canq}."
Under these orders the left wing marched from
Uniontown, and the right wing from its camps at
Mount Pleasant, Bonnett's, and Lobengier's, at the
appointed time, and moving to the vicinity of the
Monongahela and Youghiogh eny Rivers, in Westmore-
land County, went into camp at the place designated,
between Parkinson's and Budd's ferries. From his
headquarters, " near Parkinson's Ferry," on the 8th of
November, the commander-in-chief issued an address
or proclamation to the inhabitants of certain counties
lying west of the Laurel Hill, in the State of Penn-
sylvania," the tone of which was a little after the
manner of a conquering chieftain addressing the peo-
ple of a subjugated province. " You see," he said,
" encamped in the bosom of your district a numerous
and well-appointed army, formed of citizens of every
description from this and the neighboring States of
New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, whom the vio-
lated laws of our common country have called from
their homes to vindicate and restore their authority.
. . . The scene before your eyes ought to be an in-
structive one ; it ought to teach many useful truths,
which should, for your own happiness, make a deep
and lasting impression on your minds. . . . Those
who have been perverted from their duty may now
perceive the dangerous tendency of the doctrines by
which they have been misled, and how unworthy of
THE WHISKEY INSURRECTION.
177
their confidence are the men by whom, for personal
and sinister purposes, they have been brought step by
step to the precipice from which they have no escape
but in the moderation and benignity of that very gov-
ernment which they have vilified, insulted, and op-
posed. The friends of order may also perceive in the
perils and evils that have for some time surrounded
them how unwise and even culpable is that careless-
ness and apathy with which they have permitted the
gradual approaches of disorder and anarchy."
The general then proceeded to recommend to the
people to manifest their good intentions by taking and
subscribing an oath (the form of which he prescribed)
to support the constitution and obey the laws, and
by entering into associations to protect and aid
all government officers in the execution of their
duties. He further recommended to all men able
and willing to do military duty, and truly attached
to their government and country, "to array them-
selves into regiments, one for each county, and to
place themselves under such ofiicers as may. be
selected by the Governor of the State, known to be
firm friends to order and right, upon the express con-
ditions of holding themselves in constant readiness to
act in defense of the civil authority whenever called
upon, receiving for their services the same pay and
subsistence as is allowed to the militia of the United
States when in actual service." He then concluded
his proclamation as follows: "In pursuance of the
authority vested in me by the President of the
United States, and in obedience to his instructions, I do
moreover assure all who may have entitled themselves
to the benefit of the amnesty proffered by the com-
missioners heretofore sent by him to this district, and
who may not have forfeited their title by subsequent
misconduct, that the promise will be faithfully and
liberally observed, and that all possible endeavors
will be used to prevent injury to the persons or prop-
erty of peaceable citizens by the troops, whose sole
province it is to subdue those, if any there should be,
hardy enough to attempt an armed resistance, and to
support and aid the civil authority as far as may be
required. To the promulgation of these, my orders, I
with pleasure add my assurances that every exertion
will be made by me— and, from my knowledge of the
officers and soldiers of the army, I am persuaded with
full success — to carry these wise and benevolent views
of the President into complete eftect."
The entire army remained in the neighborhood of
Parkinson's Ferry for several days, after which the
main part of the troops moved down the Mononga-
hela River, and on the loth of November a detach-
ment was marched from the vicinity of Parkinson's
to the town of Washington, accompanied by Secretary
Hamilton and Judge Peters, and taking with them a
large number of prisoners' which had been taken in
the eastern part of Washington County. All the
prisoners taken by the army excepting three were
taken in that county and Allegheny, under Gen.
Lee's special orders,- issued for that purpose to Gen.
Irvine and other officers in command of cavalry.
The time indicated in this order (Thursday morn-
ing, November 13th) was the time when most of the
arrests were made by the military.
The commander-in-chief, at Uniontown, on the 1st of
November, had announced his intention " to hold the
army in this country until daily practice shall convince
all that the sovereignty of the Constitution.and laws is
unalterably established." In a few days after his forces
marched northward from Uniontown he became so
convinced, and at once began to make arrangements
for the return of the army. The notification of the
reopening of the inspection-offices was made on the
10th,'' and they were accordingly reopened ten days
put tlie diimntd rascals in tlie ceHar, to
ie them back to buck, to makn
n fire fur the guaril, but to put the piiso
lers back to the farther
end of
the celhir, and to give tliem ueillicr vie
nils nor drink. The cellar was
wet and muil.ly, and the night coM ;
he cellar extended the
whole
length under a hirge new log hon<e, vvl
ich was neither floored
lor the
openings between the logs daubed. Tl
ey were kept there unti
Satnr-
day morning, and then marched to the
town of Washington.
On the
march one of the prisoners, who Wius su
■ject to convulsions, fell into a
fit, but when some of the trooj.s tub! U
n. White of bis situatio
. he or-
dcred them to tie the damned r.isi al to :
borsi'slailanddraghi
1 along
with them, for ho had only fci!;t>i I li;iv
1- 111. tils. Someofhisfellow-
prisoners, however, wlio lia.l n I.
1 md let the p.
or man
ride. He had another fit bn, ,. i ,.
1 N^.-l.ington. Thi
nnirch
was about twelve miles. Tli ;
I 1 i.mI the fits had been in
the American service during ,. i: -
., i . , ,,1 III,. «,,, Nvit
, Gieat
Biituiu." Findley relates i
inflicted on prisoners l-y tli-
liis statements may iiave In
seen through all lii-^ ii:r i <
the worst possil'lo \<-: i >
ticnlarlynll whicli. i .-
authorized, encoiuiiiiLd, < i
ecuted by Bng.-Geu. White
- The following uro extn
Irviuo :
-From the delays ami
ouslj
agaii
er in
St ofl^enders,
the most dis
itted treason.
ble .
purp
the 1
i.tn.
,p|.r,.l,.-ml,.i|.
'""'
likh attend the pres-
lish preliminary pro-
paper comiireheuds
"On Thursday.
f November," says Findley, in his " History
tion," "there were about forty persons brought to Park-
y order of Gen. White [of New Jersey]. He directed to
3 "The announcement by Inspector Neville was as follows:
*' Notice is hereby given that on Thui-sday, the 20th instant, an otfice
of inspection will be opened at Pittsburgh for the county of Allegheny, at
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
later without opposition at tlie principal towns of the
four counties. The withdrawal of the army was an-
nounced, and the order of its return march directed,
in orders by Gen. Lee, dated "Headquarters, Pitts-
burgh, Xov. 17, 1794," viz.:.
"The complete fulfillment of every object JcpenJent on the
olToits of the army makes it the duty of the comuiander-in-
chicf to take measures for the immediate return of his faithful
fellow-soldiers to their rcspeclive homes, in execution of which
no delay will be permitted but that which results from the con-
sultation of their comfort.
•' On Tuesday morning, at the hour of eight, the Pennsyl- •
vania Cavalry will be ready to accompany his Excellency Gov-
ernor Mifflin, whose official duties renders his presence neces-
sary at the seat of government.
"On the nest day the first division of the right column,
consisting of the Artillery and Proctor's Brigade, under the
orders of JInj.-Gen. Irvine, will commence their march to Bed-
ford, on the route commonly called the Old Pennsylvania road.
'' The following day at the same hour the Xew Jersey Line
will move under the command of his Excellency Governor
Howell, who will be pleased to pursue from Bedford such routes
as ho may find convenient.
" On the subsequent day at the same hour the residue of the
Pennsylvania Line now on this ground will march under the
commanil of Brig.-Geu. Chambers, taking the route heretofore
mentioned, and making the same stages as shall have been
made by the leading division. Maj.-Gen. Frclinghuysen, with
the Elite Corps of the right column, will follow the next day
and pursue the same route.
"Brig.-Gen. Smith, with the M.aryland Line, will move to
Uniontown, agreeably to orders heretofore communicated to
liim, and from thence to proceed on Braddock's road to Fort
Cumberland, where he will adopt the most convenient measures
iii his power for the return of his troops to their respective
"Brig.-Gen. Matthews will move on Wednesday next to
Morgan Town, from thenco to Winchester by way of Frank-
fort. From Winchester the troops will be marched to their re-
spective brigades under the commanding officers from each
'• .\s soon as the public service will permit afterwards, the
Elite Corps of the left culunm, under Gen. Darke, will follow
on the route prescribed for I!:ig. Matthews, and be disbanded
as they reach their respective brigades.
"... The corps destined for the winter defense will move
without delay to BenlU-y's Farm, on the west side of the Monon-
gahela, near Perry's Ferry, where they will receive orders from
Maj.-Gen. Morgan.
" The Virginia Cavalry will take the route by Morgan Town,
from thence to Winchester by Roraney's ; the commandant will
receive particular instructions as to their time and manner of
ill due) at Bed-
ad the Virginia
for til
Fayct
office
what
vnof Wasl.iri
if llrT t)
'ton for
more
eut.y
partici.i.ir int.
is made.
riuatiLin
■•N
//i.<pec(or of th
jv. 10, 1704."
c lieienu
On the '.;7lh of November
rectcd tonotiryall persons i
Bcdfuril aj;ainst whom suits
United States for ueslectiiis
inspector announced that he was*'di-
16 counties of AUeghenj', Fayette, and
"The right column will receive their
fjrd, the Maryland Line at Fort Cumber
Line at Winchester. . , ,"
The army moved on its return in accordance with
these orders. The right column marched from Pitts-
burgh, by way of Greensburg, Ligonier, and Stony
Creek, to Bedford, and thence by way of Fort Lyt-
tleton, Strasburg, and Shippensburg to Carlisle. The
troops of the left column returned by difterent routes,
the Virginians marching up the Monongahela Valley
into their own State, and passing on by way of Mor-
gantown to Winchester; and the Maryland brigade
starting from its camp at Pierce's Ferry, thence mov-
ing southeastwardly through Fayette County and its
county town, to the Great Crossings of the Youghio-
gheny, and from there to Fort Cumberland by the
same route over which it had advanced.
The corps left, under command of Gen. Morgan, to
remain in this region through the winter for the pres-
ervation of order, and to assist, if nece.ssary, in the
execution of the laws, was placed in camp at Bentley's,
on the southwest side of the Monongahela. This force
was composed in part of troops who had come from
the East under Gen. Lee, and partly of'men enlisted
in the western counties, as advised in the proclamation
of the commander-in-chief of November 8th, and
authorized to the number of two thousand five hun-
dred men by an act of Assembly of the 29th of the
same month. Of those who were thus enlisted, Find-
ley, in his " History of the Insurrection," ' says that
many of them were reported to' have been among the
most troublesome of the insurgents ; that the people
in the neighborhood complained " that many of them,
for some time at first, demanded free quarters and
such things as they stood in need of without pay, and
that some of the oflicers committed indictable oflenses ;
but when the persons against whom the offenses were
committed commenced prosecutions they settled the
disputes amicably and behaved well for the future.
And when the people took courage to refuse to sub-
mit to impositions, the soldiers ceased to demand free
quarters, or to be otherwise troublesome." But the
tenor of the orders issued by Gen. Morgan'' to the
" General Orderi.
" Camp, Bf.xtlev's F.mim,
'The General anticipates the happiest issue that the n
forward immediately to 1
and friends of good order and
verument in the four western counties of Pennsylvania. The will-
pness with which the citizens have enrolled iheniselves to co-operate
th the army in the restoration of obedience to the laws are pleasing
ideuces that the unhappy delusion which lately pervaded this country,
I under the auspices of the friends to anarchy, are at an end.
"The General hopes that the army now hutting for winter-quarters
will consider theni..*elves as in the liosom of their friends, & that they
' will vie with each other in promoting the love and esteem of their fel-
THE WHISKEY INSURRECTION.
170
troops under his command, and the well-known char-
acter of that general in the matter of the enforcement
of discipline, render it probable that the above state-
ments of Mr. Findley, like many others made by him
in disparagement of the army and its officers, ought
to be received with some degree of incredulity.
Gen. Morgan's forces continued in their canton-
ments at Bentley's Farm (with small detachments at
Pittsburgh and Washington) until the followingspring,
when, order being fully restored and established, the
last of the troops marched eastward across the Alle-
ghenies, and the western counties were left in full pos-
session and exercise of their former rights and powers.
Gen. Lee remained in the West for a considerable
time after the departure of the main body of the army,
and on the 29th of November, in pursuance of author-
ity delegated to him by the President, he issued a
"proclamation of pardon" as follows :
"By Hexry Lee, Governor of the Commonwealth
of Virginia, Major-General therein, and Commander-
in-Chief of the Militia Army in the Service of the
United States.
"a pkoclamatiox.
'' By virtue of the powers and authority in me vested
by the President of the United States, and in obedi-
ence to his benign intentions, therewith communi-
cated, I do by this, my proclamation, declare and
make known to all concerned that a full, free, and
entire pardon (e.xcepting and providing as hereafter
mentioned) is hereby granted to all persons residing
within the counties of Washington, Allegheny, West-
moreland, and Fayette, in the Slate of Pennsylvania,
and in the county of Ohio, in the State of Virginia,
guilty of treason or misprision of treason against the
United States, or otherwise directly or indirectly en-
gaged in the wicked and unhappy tumults and dis-
turbances lately existing in those counties, excepting
nevertheless from the benefit and effect of this pardon
all persons charged with the commission of offenses
against the United States, and now actually in cus-
tody or held by recognizance to appear and answer
for all such offenses at any judicial court or courts,
excepting also all persons avoiding fair trial by aban-
donment of their homes, and excepting, moreover, the
following persons, the atrocity of whose conduct ren-
ders it proper to mark them by name, for the purpose
of subjecting them with all possible certainty to the
regular course of judicial proceedings, and whom all
, civil and military, are required to endeavor to
low-citizens, nnd pointedly avoid every species of spoliation on the
property of the inhabitants.
"The officers commanding fatigue parties are partirularly directed
not to sutfer tlie sngar or otlier trees producing fruit or conitbrt to tlie
farmer to be cut down for building, or any other purpose wliatever.
Tlie burning of fencing, where there is sucli an abundance of fuel so
e.asily procured, is strictly forbid, and a violence offered to tlie person or
depredation on the property of any individual by tlie soldiery will be
punished in the most exemplary and summ.Try manner.
"Daxiel Mobga.v."
apprehend and bring tojustice, to wit : [Here follows
the list of excepted persons, given below.]
" Provided, — That no person who shall hereafter
wilfully obstruct the execution of any of the laws of
the United States, or be in anywise aiding or abetting
therein, shall be entitled to any benefit or advantage
of the pardon hereinbefore granted ; and provided,
also, that nothing herein contained shall extend or
be construed to extend to the remission or mitigation
of any forfeiture of any penalty incurred by reason
of infractions of, or obstructions to, the laws of the
United States for collecting a revenue upon distilled
spirits and stills.
" Given under my hand, at Head Quarters in Eliz-
abeth Town, this twenty-ninth day of November,
1794. Hexey Lee.
"By order of the commander-in-chief.
"G. K. Taylor, Ald-de-Camp."
The names of the persons excepted by the terms of
this proclamation were
Benjamin Parkinson, George Parker,
Arthur Gardner, William Hanna,
John Holcroft, Edward Magner, Jr.,
Daniel Hamilton, Thomas Hughes,
Thomas Lapsley, David Lock,
AVilliam Miller, Ebenezer Gallagher,
Edward Cook, Peter Lyle,
Edward Wright, J<ihn Shields,
Richard Holcroft, William Hay,
David Bradford, William Mcllhenny,
John Mitchell, Thomas Patton,
Alexander Fulton, Stephenson Jack,
Thomas Spiers, Patrick Jack, and
William Bradford, Andrew Highlands,
of the State of Pennsylania.
William Sutherland, John Moore, and
Robert Stephenson, John McCormick,
William McKinley,
of Ohio County, Va.
With reference to the cases of those who were made
prisoners by the cavalry, as well as of many pro-
scribed but not captured, formal investigations were
made under the direction of Judge Peters, in the
course of which it was made appai'ent that informa-
tion had been made against many who had really
been guilty of no offense against the government.
Many of those arrested were taken to Pittsburgh. Some
were released through the interposition of influential
friends, while others less fortunate were sent to Phil-
adelphia, where they were imprisoned for some
months.
Of those who were arrested while the army was in
this region, one, and only one, w^as of Fayette County.
This was Caleb Mounts. He was taken East with the
forces of the right wing, but it was afterwards found
that he was innocent, having been in Kentucky at the
time when the riotous proceedings occurred. In re-
gard to the taking of this person, Findley says,
"Isaac Meason, a judge of Fayette County, followed
180
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Judge Peters near forty miles into Bedford County,
and ofiered liiniself and Judge Wells, of Bedford,
both of them acknowledged friends of the government,
as liail lor the ]iris(iiier, hut was absolutely refused.
As Mr. M..as,,n knew that tlie j.risoner was guilty of
no crime, which cvidcritly apiicarcd (o be the case by
no bill being found against him on his trial, he and
Mr. Wells complain of the judge for not admitting
him to bail on their application. Judge Peters being
well known to be a man of feeling and humanity, his
conduct in this and several other instances can only
be accounted for from his apprehension that it was
necessary that a considerable number of prisoners
should be brought down in order to prevent the in-
flammatory part of the army from committing out-
rages at leaving the country." This last remark of
Findley seems too clearly absurd to require contra-
diction. <.)iily two prisoners were taken by the army
in Westmoreland County. One of these was after-
war.ls discharged for the reason that no bill was ibund
against hiju. The other, a very ignorant man of most
violent tem])er, and said to be subject to fits of tempo-
rary insanity, was found guilty of setting fire to the
house of the Fayette County collector, Benjamin
Wells, and was sentenced to death, but was rejirieved,
and linally pardoned by the President of the United
States. The principal witness against this man on
Ills trial was said to have been a chief leader of the
rioters who attacked Wells' house, but one of those
included in the ])ardon of the commander-in-chief
In August, llO't, general pardons to those who had
been implicated in tlie insurrection and who had not
subsequently been indicted or convicted were pro-
claimed by President Washington and Governor
Mifflin, in pursuance of the agreement made in the
previous year at Pittsburgh by the United States and
Pennsylvania commissioners.
CHAPTER XVI.
F.WETTE COUXTY IN' THE AVAR OF JSI2-15 AND
MEXICAN WAR.
Immediatei.y after the declaration of war by the
United States against England, in 1812, recruiting
was commenced in Fayette County for the formation
of companies to take the field in the government ser-
vice. The first company completed was that of
Thomas Collins, of Uniontown, which marched from
the county-seat in August of that year. The service
of this company was performed at Oswego, Sackett's
Harbor, and other points along the lake frontier iu
Northern New York, under Maj. John Herkimer.
A company raised and commanded by Capt. John
Phillips was completed, and left the county at about
the same time as Ca]it. Collins', and served in the
same command under Mnj, Herkimer.
Capt. James Whaley, of Connellsville, raised and
commanded a company which left the county in Sep-
tember of the same year. On the day of their de-
parture from Connellsville they were entertained at
the public-house of David Barnes (afterwards the
Page House), where they were addres.sed in a patriotic
strain by Fatlier Connelly, and after the conclusion
of these ceremonies moved across the river to a camp
in the limits of the present borough of New Haven.
Thence they marched to Pittsburgh, where they were
mustered into the service Oct. 2, 1812. The company
being assigned to duty under